


Kingdom of Galar

by Pikayr



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Both Victor and Hop's mothers are basically OCs, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Not Ashamed, Later chapters have some vulgar language, M/M, Might be OOC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 32,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27224239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pikayr/pseuds/Pikayr
Summary: As the prince of Galar, Hop has his own responsibilities to uphold, in order to keep up with his brother and king of Galar, Leon. Pokémon battling is one of those responsibilities, as he also has to be able to protect his kingdom if he so needs to.His story starts as he travels to Stow-on-Side, in order to fulfill his training. There, he meets a commoner who will undoubtedly change his life permanently...
Relationships: Hop/Masaru | Victor
Comments: 12
Kudos: 67





	1. The Royal Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CertainVICTORy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CertainVICTORy/gifts).



The kingdom of Galar was ruled by whoever was the champion of Pokémon battling. As a ruler, they would oversee the population and protect them from whatever danger may arise to harm them. The champion’s family shall also flourish along with him/her, and live in the Grand Castle in the grand city of Wyndon. Whenever the champion would fall in battle to another challenger, the throne would be handed down to the challenger and his/her family. However, if no one can best the king, the throne will be passed down to those in the champion’s family, whoever it may be.

From there, the population was split among two communities: commoners, and nobles. The nobles were generally families who lived and were blessed with wealth and generally were the ones responsible for ruling singular cities, while also usually being the ones who are in power throughout the kingdom of Galar. They were in charge of protecting their own people, while the king kept them all in line.

On the other hand, the commoners were less lucky. Although being a commoner does not necessarily mean living in poverty, they were often living in middle-class to low-class residential areas. Nobles often mock commoners for their living conditions, although commoners are not necessarily boxed out of holding a position in power, just like a noble.

What societal rank you belonged to is decided at birth, depending on the rank of your parents. A commoner can marry into a noble family, just like a noble can marry into a commoner family. The former is usually more frequent.

Enter King Leon Grant and his family of nobles. King Leon trained under the previous king, Mustard, after showing great promise as a Pokémon battler and shortly after, was handed the throne after he bested Mustard in a battle. 

King Leon was a respected king; a friendly face who you could always count on to protect you in case of danger. He has always protected his people from grave danger, such as the Darkest Day in which the great Pokémon Eternatus almost plunged the world into eternal night. He did so with the help of his eight trusted knights, all of which have their own jobs as rulers of their cities.

Leon has a very small family. He only has his brother, Prince Hop, and his mother who serves as the queen mother of Galar, Lena. As a family of three, they have a very large amount of empty space in their castle. Queen Mother Lena has been pushing for both of her children to get married, so she can have a less lonely time in her castle with her boys. Although King Leon has someone in mind, Prince Hop is not so sure about who he could possibly spend his entire life with…

“Ma’, I’m telling you, I don’t know who I could marry!” 

Prince Hop and his family are having dinner in their very large dining room, only taken by Queen Mother Lena sitting on one far end, with King Leon sitting at the other end. Prince Hop sits between them, exasperated at his mother’s insistence on him finding a woman to marry.

“What did I tell you about your dialect, Prince Hop?”

Queen Mother Lena always made sure to train Prince Hop and King Leon on how to properly act like royalty, although they both don’t really follow the rules she had in mind. Although she has problems with them acting and talking so casually, she cannot deny that this made both of them easy to approach, which contributed to their popularity throughout Galar.

Lena spoke up again about Hop’s marriage. “You’re very popular in all of Galar, I’m sure any girl out there would be ecstatic to have a chance to marry the young prince of Galar, brother of the king!”

Hop merely sighed. He is always compared to his brother, even though Hop will not have the heir to the throne. Whoever marries Leon, their child would be the next king of Galar should Leon perish. The cycle would continue until their kin is bested by a challenger.

The king noticed his brother’s discomfort and tried to break up the conversation. “Mother, that’s enough. I’m sure Hop will find someone he truly loves sooner or later.”

Lena scowled. “Leon, your brother is a prince. He must have someone to complete this royal family! There has never been a family as small as ours living in the castle! This is why we needed the eight knights to be formed so Galar remains protected!”

Although both the king and the prince were tired of their mother’s insistence on their marriage, this much was true. Before the current royal family moved into the castle, there were always enough members in the royal family to cover all the big cities in Galar. However, with Leon’s family being as small as it is, eight powerful Pokémon trainers were hired to form the Challenger Knights. These trainers helped with small disputes and problems in their own cities, acting as its own ruler. As soon as a problem escalates that it affects multiple cities, then the king would step in to solve the issue. These eight knights also served as gates, because before a challenger could face the king, they first would have to best the other eight rulers.

As it was, Queen Mother Lena was not a Pokémon trainer, and Prince Hop only has a young Wooloo in his possession. 

Leon turned to face his brother. “Instead of marrying him off so quickly, wouldn’t it be best for him to learn how to battle instead?” Hop perked up in response, as he continued, “we have the Challenger Knights to protect our cities, so the size of our family isn’t a big concern. I’m more concerned with my brother being able to protect himself in a battle.”

Hop huffed in triumph. “See?! He’s bringing up a good point!”

Lena sighed. “Yes, I suppose you’re right… We did already make an appointment for Prince Hop to travel to Stow-on-Side for lessons on battling.”

Leon interjected. “And that’s tomorrow. With our private Corviknight taxi, he should get there in about an hour or two. And I trust you also found him a place to sleep?”

Lena scoffed. “Of course, how could I send our prince to fend for himself? He’ll be lodging in a small inn after his training. He’ll be there for only two nights, so I trust you won’t make a fuss, Hop.”

Hop raised an eyebrow. “Stow-On-Side, huh? Alright, I'll try it out, I guess.”

Lena nodded. “I’m glad. Anyhow, finish your dinner, we have to get your belongings packed for your trip to Stow-on-Side.”

“Yes, mother!” He replied happily and formally.


	2. Meeting Each Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small thing I thought I should note, Hop's family name is sorta just something I came up with at the top of my head, and Victor's last name is based on his manga name. Enjoy!

“Vic! Is our suite ready!” The innkeeper shouts up at her son, who was responsible for the room for Galar’s prince.

“Yeah! Everything’s in tip-top shape here!” Victor shouts back, as he finishes dusting off the vase on the counter near the bed. 

When the news arrived that the prince of Galar was to visit Stow-on-Side for Pokémon practice, the family-owned inn and its employees scurried to make sure that everything was perfect, as to not disappoint the prince when he arrived. Stow-on-Side was a dusty little town that still had an arena for Pokémon battling, and it belonged to the fourth Challenger Knight, Bea, and her knight-in-training, Allister. It was confusing to Victor why the prince would choose to visit a town populated only by commoners, as Hammerlocke seemed to be more of a city fit for royalty. He knew Bea personally, and she’s not one to pull any punches when it comes to Pokémon battling.

Then again, all he thought about may have been exactly the reasons why the prince was to visit Stow-on-Side rather than a city fit for a noble.

Victor exited the suite, ready to go downstairs and greet the prince with a warm welcome when he arrived. He heard that the prince was his age, so maybe there was a chance he could probably teach him a thing or two about battling.

Then suddenly, Victor was assaulted by his own Pokémon.

“H-Hey! Raboot, cut it out! Stop yankin’ my hair!” Victor laughed as his cheerful Raboot jumped onto his shoulders and began playing with his hair. Well, ‘playing’, by Raboot’s standards. It was more so just yanking and pulling if you were to watch him do it to his trainer.

The Sodo Inn was the only inn in Stow-on-Side, regarded as an inn with a very friendly and light atmosphere. There was usually a customer who would show up at the inn who needed a pick-me-up, and the Sodo Inn was always there to oblige. With its own bar for drinks and meals downstairs and several rooms upstairs, the inn was usually always busy, but still lighthearted and full of cheer nonetheless.

The inn was owned by the small Sodo family, Victor Sodo and his mother, Yvette Sodo. Both had a great relationship and depended on each other to keep the inn running, and if their popularity was anything to go by, business was always good.

However, if there was any chance for their business to skyrocket, it was right now, with the one and only prince of Galar staying at their inn. Yvette called up to Victor as he tried to get his Raboot off his shoulders.

“Come on, come on, Vic! There’s no time to fool around right now! Imagine what kind of customers we’d get from all over the region if the prince actually enjoys his stay! Now hurry on downstairs and help me get his meal ready for when he arrives!”

“On my way!” Victor called, as Raboot decided he had enough and got off Victor’s shoulders. He knows the situation they’re in, and he’s not gonna be the one to ruin it.

As Victor rushed down the stairs, he noticed that the inn still had some customers left in the bar. He greeted them with a smile and a cheerful wave as usual, as he hopped to the kitchen to help out his mother. Once there, he overheard some customers talking.

“I wonder how the prince will like this place. It might be a great inn, but this town doesn’t have much in it… would he even like a town filled with commoners?” a man gruffed.

“Nonsense, we have the strictest knight out of the eight! I’m sure he’ll leave this place and he’ll get knocked right into shape so he can battle just as well as his brother!” his wife replied.

Yvette walked out of the kitchen with a big pot of curry and placed it next to the couple. “Now now, whether he is spoiled or not, it is our job to make sure he enjoys his stay. Who knows, maybe the noblest nobles liking his experience in a town full of commoners would have a positive impact on our outlook!”

The two customers agreed as they were given their meals. As they started to eat, their faces changed into a wide smile. “My, your curry is as divine as ever, Yvette! Did your son help with this one?” the woman asked.

“Well, Vic? Did you?” Yvette looked back at Victor, as he blushed and shyly scratched the back of his head.

“Y-Yeah, I got some berries for her and added some spice to it with some Cheri Berries…”

“Well, this curry is just perfect! I’m sure the prince will be talking about this place all the way back to Wyndon!”

Victor turned to face his mother and whispered, “Speaking of the prince… shouldn’t he be arriving by now? Shouldn’t we close shop for him?”

“Actually, I was told to treat him as normally as possible by the king himself. How could I turn down an order directly from the king?” She turned to her customers. “Well, even though we should treat him like a normal customer, that does not mean everyone else should mock him or anything! Remember, he’s our prince!”

Her customers nodded and assured her nothing will happen.

“Mom… what’s the prince like?” Victor has never seen the prince in his 14 years of living and has only formed a picture in his head through rumors spread around by the people of Stow-on-Side.

“Well, I’ve never met him in person so I can’t really tell you-”

At that moment, there was a commotion outside.

“Hold that thought, Vic, that must be the man of the hour.”

Victor turned to the front door as it opened, and entered Prince Hop himself, with a small carry-on bag, and a small bag of luggage. He was wearing a standard T-shirt and long pants, maybe to not stick out too much from the crowd. He greeted the family and the customers with a nervous wave and smile. Victor immediately felt his world stop at the sight of Hop, as he focused on his features. Unique hair color of purple, with his hair being styled like an ember, with balls of hair right above his forehead, as if his own hairdo is a crown. His eyes were another color you don’t see every day, with them being brownish-yellow like sweet honey. His smile was small, but there was something about him that Victor saw that seemed like he was an extrovert, but was just being considerate, as the prince. Even though he was wearing normal clothes just like the rest of them, he couldn’t have possibly stood out more from the crowd, with his distinguishable hair and eyes. Victor shook his head as Hop walked towards them.

“H-Hi, I’m here for the room that was reserved by my mom and brother for my Pokémon battle practice?”

Before Yvette could open her mouth to lead the prince to his room, Victor spoke up, startling her, the customers, and even himself. “R-Right this way, your highness!”

“Oh, okay! Thank you.”

Victor walked around the counter to be in front of Hop. “I-I can help you with your bags if you’d like!”

“O-Oh, if it’s alright, I’ll carry the bags, really, it’s no issue.”

Yvette facepalmed as Victor blushed. “O-Okay then, follow me for your suite, your highness.”

Hop smiled awkwardly as he followed Victor up the stairs to the suite. Victor unlocked the door and held it open for the prince as he walked inside and set his carry-on bag on the floor next to his bed. Raboot watched silently from a bit further away as he watched Victor walk inside the room with the prince.

“I-I hope it’s to your liking…”

“Oh, yeah! It’s great. And um… really, you don’t have to be so formal with me! Just call me Hop. What’s your name?”

“U-Um… Victor… it’s nice to meet you Pri- um, Hop.”

Hop giggled as he watched Victor fumble with his words, embarrassing him. “I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting Stow-on-Side to be so friendly, with all the nobles in Wyndon, they always spread nasty rumors about commoners…”

“W-Well, we may not have castles, but we at least have neighborly relations.”

Hop opened his mouth to speak but frowned. “I-I apologize…”

“O-Oh, I’m sorry! It wasn’t meant as anything offensive…”

Hop still kept his sorry look. “No, you’re right. I wish that we could do away with this social rank system so everyone could live equally, but we’d get so much backlash from nobles not wanting to be grouped in with commoners, and commoners who wouldn’t want to become as ‘pompous as nobles’, as they say.”

Victor stood there silently, nervous by the awkward topic he unintentionally arose to the conversation. Desperate for some sort of ice breaker, he swapped the topic to Pokémon.

“A-Anyways, you said downstairs that you’re here for… Pokémon battling…?”

“Oh! Um, yes, I’m here to learn more about battling, so that I may someday fight alongside my brother when the time comes. Do you know anything about Pokémon?”

“Well, our inn is Pokémon friendly, but besides that I uh… have a Raboot? He was given to me by my dad as a birthday present when he was still a Scorbunny.”

“Wow… so he evolved?!” Hop’s excitement shone through his words, as evolution must have meant he has battled before.

“Y-Yeah, sometimes we had to go out a bit far into Route 6 when the market doesn’t have any berries, and sometimes we’d run into wild Pokémon. Although we have no real training… we had to protect ourselves somehow. After some battling, he sorta just… evolved.” 

Victor looked back at the open door of the suite, where he realized that Raboot was hiding just out of sight, but still close enough where Victor could see his Shadow. He smiled and called for Raboot to come in. Raboot quickly responded by charging into the room with a wide smile, as Victor halted him.

“Hey! This is royalty here, show some respect for his room!”

Hop giggled again. “No worries, really! I love Pokémon. I only have a Wooloo, though… I wish I could maybe catch some other Pokémon or at the very least train him a little bit…” Hop took out Wooloo’s Pokéball from the carry-on bag, and looked at Victor. “You said that the inn’s Pokémon friendly, right?”

“Yeah! Don’t worry, send him right out!”

“Okay…” Hop took a deep breath as he tossed the Pokéball into the air, and it released Wooloo.

Wooloo was released and he was seemingly in the middle of a snooze, as he was still asleep when he materialized from the Pokéball. After a bit of time (with Hop and Victor awkwardly staring at him), he woke up and was taken aback by his surroundings. He nervously looked all around him, as if he was scared.

“W-Woah buddy, it’s okay, I’m here.” Hop reached out to Wooloo, with the sheep Pokémon quickly jumping right into Hop’s arms, showing Victor that they truly trusted each other.

“Aww, with that tight bond you two have, I’m sure he’ll grow strong in no time.”

“You think so?” Hop looked at Victor with hopeful eyes, tugging at Victor’s heartstrings.

“O-Of course! Now um, what moves does he know…?”

“Lee trained me a bit with him before but he... he knows Headbutt, Defense Curl, Double Kick, and um… Guard Split.”

Victor thought to himself.  _ ‘He knows Headbutt? He’s bound to evolve very soon then… I’m sure he’ll get a nice surprise with Bea’s training.’  _ But instead, he ended up complimenting his moveset.

“Your Wooloo’s got a pretty good moveset! He even has Double Kick for those Rock and Steel types!”

Hop looked at Victor with interest. “Type match-ups, huh…” After looking down at Wooloo and giving it some thought, he asked Victor another question. “Hey Victor? What moves does Raboot know, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well, he knows Flame Charge, Low Sweep, Bulk Up, and Ember.”

Hop turned back to his Wooloo, in deep thought.

“H-Hop?”

Hop turned to Victor with a serious look in his eyes. “Victor, will you have a Pokémon battle with me?”


	3. Hop's Resolve

“I-I… You what?” Victor stuttered.

“Please, my training doesn’t start until tomorrow, and I know that as we are right now, Wooloo and I won’t stand a chance against Lady Bea tomorrow!” Hop pleaded.

_ ‘The knight of the region is literally begging me to do something with him I can’t handle this I can’t-‘ _

“S-Sure…! I don’t see why we can’t help you out a little…!”

_ ‘DAMN IT!’  _ Victor cursed to himself.

Hop’s eyes sparkled in response, making Victor’s face redden as he turned away. Hop stood up from his bed, and grasped Victor’s hand, startling him even more. “Thank you, Victor! Really, I’m in your debt for this!”

“I-It’s really no big deal…! Y-You’re a prince, a Pokémon battle isn’t anything we can’t do…”

Hop let go of Victor’s hand, the excitement never leaving his expression. “We can have our battle whenever you’re ready, I’ll be available at any time!”

“It’s quite alright, but… if I’m not… overstepping my boundaries sir, may I ask… why do you want to learn how to battle?” Victor asked as Hop’s excitement came to a pause.

“Oh, well… you see… back at the castle, my brother, King Leon — I refer to him as Lee — is the only one who can really protect the castle and even the entirety of Wyndon.” Hop sat back down on the bed and looked at his hands folded on his legs. “Of course, he’s the champion of Galar… he’s supposed to be able to handle the dangers that we could face, like how I’m told that he held off Eternatus along with the Legendary Sword and Shield Pokémon, Zacian and Zamazenta. I was too young to really remember anything about the disaster that supposedly struck… but he fought hard to protect his land and his people. In comparison, I’m… just a child who has a young Wooloo in his possession… one that was only given to me by Lee when I was still too young to think about what owning a Pokémon possibly meant.” Hop turned to his Wooloo, as he listened carefully. “I want to fight, too. I cannot be a prince who is shielded by his brother any longer. I will fight for my people, just as the king does.” Hop stood up off the bed and turned back to Victor. “Please, if you know of someplace that you and I can have a Pokémon battle before I meet with Lady Bea, I would appreciate it greater than you could ever know.”

Victor stared at Hop with wide eyes, as Hop stared back with a determined smile. After clicking back into reality, he spoke. “W-We can just go out on Route 6 where there’s a bit of space before you climb downwards towards the outer area…”

Hop stopped, as he replaced his wide smile with a slight frown. “O-Oh, I’m not allowed to leave the city on account for my duties here…”

Victor opened his mouth to speak but stopped. Of course, he couldn’t just take the prince of Galar someplace outside the city, they could have his head for that! But something struck Victor as his eyes gazed at Hop’s genuinely disappointed look.

_ ‘He truly just wants to protect his country…’ _

Victor walked just outside the suite, carefully observing the situation downstairs. His mother was tending to more customers who walked in after the prince arrived, and it seems she’s too busy to check up on Victor and how he’s doing with Hop. He came back into the suite, closed the door, and walked back to Hop, making sure to keep him quiet.

_ ‘A-Am I really gonna do this…? I’ve never sneaked out before… I’ve always just done as I was told…’  _ Victor looked at Hop, as he was confusingly staring at Victor, expecting him to continue.  _ ‘I’m already this far in, I can’t disappoint our prince now…’ _

“L-Listen. You and I can just… sneak out? Right there, through that window.” Victor pointed at the window that led to a back area of the inn that wasn’t covered by a roof. “The fall doesn’t look that big, we should be fine. There’s a small hole in the fencing that we can squeeze past. After that, we can go and sneak out to a hidden area on Route 6. Whaddya say?” Victor explained his scheme to Hop, as he stuttered in a few more words. “O-Of course if you don’t wanna, t-that’s fine too! Y-You’re the prince, I can’t just-“

“I’ll do it.” Hop interrupted, startling Victor.

“R-Really?”

Hop looked at the ground for a minute, before continuing. “I’ve never sneaked out of the castle back at home before… everything I do is always because it is expected of me… but I know that with you, I can find some other way. And I will become a stronger prince with this. Please, lead the way, Victor.”

Victor’s face burned, and he’s sure he was as red as a tomato. Hop asked if he was okay, maybe the red was so bad it looked like he suddenly was running a high fever. To Hop, it might have been because of the thought of disobeying his mother, but it was in actuality because of Hop’s sudden trust in Victor.

“S-Sure… and please, just call me Vic. Right this way, sir.” Victor walked towards the window of the suite and opened it.

Hop cheerfully gleamed. “If I’m calling you Vic, you can just call me Hop. Like I said before, no formalities.”

Victor looked back at Hop and smiled. Raboot and Wooloo walked to their respective trainers, as Hop recalled Wooloo back into his Pokéball, as Victor took out Raboot’s Pokéball and recalled him as well, not failing to notice Raboot’s grimace at the idea of being put back into the ball. Victor chuckled nervously, and joined with Hop, hopped right out the window.

As they landed in the inn’s somewhat rundown backyard, Hop stood up but kneeled back down quickly as he hissed in pain. Victor’s ankles hurt somewhat as well, but he could still walk fine.

“A-Are you okay, Hop?” Victor whispered.

Hop whispered back. “T-This is nothing… I’ll be fine…”

Hop slowly stood back up, as Victor followed. After reassuring that the prince was alright to walk, the two sneaked past the opening in the fencing and made their way outside the town, undetected. The prince giggled in excitement.

“This is somewhat thrilling…! I should do this more often!” Hop whispered somewhat loudly.

Victor hushed, but in a joking tone. “I don’t want your family coming after mine because I suddenly became a ‘bad influence’ on you, hear me mate?”

Hop chuckled. “Don’t worry, they won’t.”

Victor nodded, as they walked to a hidden clearing just past the city. Although they were still somewhat close, no one should be able to see them, unless they were searching around the entirety of Route 6. Victor ran a bit further out and turned back to Hop, facing him with Raboot’s Pokéball.

“Alright Hop, you and me, one-on-one! To make you a better prince!”

Hop gazed at Victor with a determined smile and took out Wooloo’s Pokéball. He held it close to his chest and then held it out as well. “I thank you again for this favor, Vic. Now, face me!”


	4. You and Me

Victor sent out Raboot, who was immediately relieved to be free of his Pokéball. Hop sent out Wooloo in response, who showed much more energy than Raboot. Maybe Raboot knew that he was fighting a royal Pokémon and didn’t want to be the one responsible for injuring it if it even happened? Victor wasn’t sure.

“Well prince, I’ll give you the first move!”

“My thanks! Wooloo, get ready and use Defense Curl!”

Wooloo retracted his limbs into his fluffy coat, as his body began to shine, indicating that his defense had been increased.

“Raboot! Be quick and use Ember!”

Raboot charged and shot out a small fireball, to which Hop exclaimed for Wooloo to dodge, and it did as such.

“Your Wooloo’s pretty quick, Hop!”

“As is your Raboot! Now Wooloo, use Headbutt!”

Wooloo charged towards Raboot, and hit it with its head, knocking Raboot away.

_ ‘There’s no real reason for Wooloo to use Double Kick, as his Headbutt will do much more damage anyways… I could use that to my advantage.’  _ Victor thought to himself.

“Raboot! You okay, mate?” Raboot turned and gave Victor a thumbs up in response. “Cool, hit him with a Flame Charge!”

Raboot charged toward Wooloo even quicker than before, engulfed in flames. Wooloo didn’t have the speed to dodge a now quicker Raboot and got sent back towards Hop, showing difficulty with standing back up.

“Wooloo! Please, hang in there!”

_ ‘So it does have Fluffy for an ability. Raboot should be in a huge advantage with the moves he knows.’ _

“Raboot! Finish it off with Ember!”

“Wooloo! You have to get up and dodge!”

Wooloo did not recover in time and was hit with Raboot’s Ember. However, as Wooloo’s coat began to burn, it also began to shine again.

“Huh?” Hop stared at Wooloo in confusion, as Victor smiled further away. Wooloo was evolving.

Hop looked on as Wooloo’s horns began to grow, and he grew from a small little ball of fluff that barely reached up to Hop’s knees, to a much bigger size, almost growing to be the size of Hop himself.

As the shine evaporated, so did the flames. Wooloo evolved into a Dubwool, stunning his owner.

“Wooloo?”

Dubwool turned to his trainer, and let out a deeper “baaa”. He then turned to Raboot again, showing the determination to keep going. Victor, however, walked towards the sheep and exclaimed that the battle was over.

“W-Wait, huh?” Hop asked, still confused about the whole situation.

“This is all I wanted. For your Wooloo to evolve into a Dubwool. I knew he was close to evolving because he knew Headbutt.”

“Dubwool…”

Hop walked toward his newly evolved Pokémon, as Raboot walked past them to join with his respective trainer.

“Do you… remember me?”

Dubwool smiled gleefully and let out a cheerful “baah”, as he snuggled his face with Hop’s.

“Aww, h-hey stop! That tickles!”

“‘Course he remembers you. You’ve been there all his life.” Victor smiled as he watched the two laugh with each other, clearly showing their deep bond.

Hop turned to Victor and ran towards him, hugging him. “Thank you so much for this, Victor. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

Victor blushed as he hugged back, stammering, “I-It’s fine, it was nothing, don’t worry about it…”

Hop let go. “We should probably return back to your inn before your mother notices we’re gone.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right…”

The two turned around and recalled their Pokémon. Or at least, Hop did. Victor tried, but Raboot knocked his Pokéball right back. He was not getting into that prison again. Victor chuckled, as they walked back into the small opening they came from.

As Victor and Hop made it back to the inn’s backyard, they were met with Yvette frantically searching the backyard, trying to find her son.

“M-Mom?”

Yvette turned and practically screamed in relief. “W-Where have you been?! Don’t tell me you went off to that clearing again! You know it can be dangerous there!” She looked back and noticed that Hop was right behind Victor. “A-And His Highness is with you?!”

Hop rubbed the back of his head, as Victor stammered, trying to think of a rebuttal. However, Hop spoke up.

“M-Ms. Sodo… this whole excursion was um… my fault.”

“I-I beg your pardon?”

“I asked Victor for a Pokémon battle to help me get ready for my training tomorrow, and he accepted. This was my idea, and I’m at fault.”

Victor nervously walked back a bit to shield Hop. “T-This may have been his idea, but it was my idea to sneak out back to the clearing! I’m still the one to blame here!”

Yvette sighed. “The whole town was looking for you two. We were about to go insane thinking that the prince of Galar was missing mere moments after his arrival here!”

Victor and Hop both winced. They then apologized.

But Yvette smiled instead. “Although… it’s surprising to see you two defending each other. Are you two friends already?”

Hop smiled at Victor, as he blushed and looked away in return. Hop said, “I hope so. Victor was truly a great help to my W-, I mean, Dubwool.”

Victor’s blush grew on his face. “I-I only did what I thought was right, your highness…!”

Hop’s smile grew wider. “I thought we said no formalities, Vic.”

“Y-You’re right…! I’m sorry, Hop…!”

Hop sighed as Yvette giggled. “You’ll have to forgive my son, Prince Hop. He’s always been a little… introverted.”

Hop turned to Victor, as Victor kept his nervous gaze away from Hop.  _ ‘That’s strange… during the battle, he felt so… unchained.’ _ Hop thought to himself.  _ ‘He must know more about battling than he lets on…’ _

Victor nervously pushed his mom to the back entrance, where it leads to the inn’s kitchen. “T-That’s enough Ma’, you’re gonna give me a heart attack here!”

Hop and Yvette giggled as Hop followed the two family members back into the inn. He’s surely ready for his practice against Lady Bea tomorrow.


	5. Chancellor Rose

“Leon?” Lena stepped into Leon’s chambers, knocking on the door as she entered.

“Oh, what is it, mother?”

“I was told Chancellor Rose wanted to speak to you about something.”

Leon sighed. Right under the royal family was Chancellor Rose in terms of power. When it comes to political power, Rose holds much more influence than any of the Challenger Knights with their individual cities, as he can step in to meddle in their affairs, seemingly whenever he wishes. There are many people who disapprove of Rose’s influence, as he sometimes relies on underhanded tactics in order to get what he wants. As for who Rose is as a person, he is the Chancellor of Galar who rose to power through his charisma as a younger man. He is a commoner by birth, although, by this point, he’s basically living as a noble, due to him having connections to the Challenger Knights and even the royal family themselves. 

Something about Chancellor Rose irks King Leon like there is something he cannot put his finger on. He feels as if Chancellor Rose is planning something sinister behind the scenes, but he has no concrete evidence to prove so.

“I’ll… meet with him. Where is he?”

“In the main entrance, waiting for your arrival.”

Leon clicked his tongue in annoyance. Such arrogance, to drop by the royal castle unannounced, especially with Prince Hop away for his training at Stow-on-Side.

_ ‘His timing is too accurate. What is he planning?’  _ Leon thought to himself. However, he ended up agreeing to see the chancellor at the entrance, against his better judgment.

As Leon stepped into the main lobby of the castle with his mother following close behind him with a slight frown on her face, he finally saw Chancellor Rose, sitting comfortably in one of the chairs, seeming deep in thought. However, he broke out of his trance as Leon stepped closer. Out of respect, Rose stood up from the chair and bowed.

“Your highness, pleasure to see you again.” Rose bowed with closed eyes and a smile that seemed dangerously composed.

“Chancellor Rose. To what do I owe this visit?” Leon cut to the chase, not wanting to keep Rose in his castle for much longer.

“Ah yes… if I may be a bit selfish… Can we discuss this matter in private?”

Leon scowled in response but allowed it. Even though he was king, he cannot just refuse to meet with the chancellor due to just personal bias. He turned to his mother and reassured her that he will be back momentarily and that she is to wait in her chambers. Lena nodded, as she stepped away, not before looking back at Leon one last time before she walked around the corner, out of sight of the two men who still stood in the main entrance.

“Follow me to my chambers, then.”

As the two walked back to Leon’s chambers, Rose failed to notice Lena following a comfortable distance away, as to eavesdrop in their conversation. She also began to lower her opinion of Rose as she realized how badly his thirst for power increased after he rose to power as the chancellor.

Leon allowed Rose into his chambers and closed the door. Leon then walked to the front of the room and sat down on the very exquisitely decorated chair, looking out the window in which he could see the majority of Wyndon. “What is this about, Rose?”

“Well, your highness, I bring to you a concern about Galar’s energy supply.”

Leon turned to Rose and raised an eyebrow. “Our… energy supply.”

“Yes, you see, the entirety of Galar’s energy supply, what we use to power our cities, our homes, and our own stadium challenges with the knights, will be exhausted come a few more years.”

“Exactly how many years do you mean?”

“Around a millennium, my lord.”

Leon turned back to his window. “Why bring this concern to me now, when none of us will live to witness that energy failure? And tell me, do you have a method to stop said exhaustion?”

Rose smiled. “No my lord, I do not have a method of fixing this future crisis at the moment. I just believed that this was something that was worthy of your attention.”

Leon raised an eyebrow again at Rose. “You come to my castle for such a concern? What are you plotting, Chancellor Rose…?”

Rose bowed. “Why, nothing at all, your majesty. If you’ll excuse me, I should be taking my leave.”

Leon turned his chair fully to face Rose as he bowed again, and left Leon’s chambers. As Rose walked out, Lena appeared to escort him back to the entrance of the castle. Leon sat in his chair, deep in thought as to what the chancellor could be thinking, brazenly appearing in his castle to notify him of a pebble on the path of Galar’s prosperity, and then leaves as if he stepped out of his own home. As he continued to try and piece together what the chancellor was planning for Galar, his mother stepped into his chambers.

“He has left the castle, Leon.”

“You overheard our conversation, I’m sure.”

Lena smiled. “You know I do not trust that man.”

“Neither do I. His way of thinking has warped compared to back when he was a younger man, still running for the position of Chancellor.”

“What did he say about Galar’s energy?”

Leon sighed. “He mentioned that Galar’s energy will cease in a matter of about a thousand years. Something in the way he spoke told me he already has a solution, even though he told me he has no such thing.”

Lena rolled her eyes and sighed. “He obviously has something planned. But what is it?”

“Eternatus was conquered 10 years ago. I doubt he has some method of reviving that poisonous dragon.”

“I wish to be able to simply say ‘perish the thought’, but I cannot confidently say that reviving that dragon that almost spelled the destruction of Galar is out of the realm of possibility for today’s technology.” Lena looked down in worry, “as Chancellor, he could possibly have the means to do so…”

Leon stood up from his chair. “I will have to do some research myself. I forbid him to push us toward our destruction because of a crisis that will not come for several lifetimes.”

“L-Leon? What are you going to do?”

“I have to meet with Professor Sonia.”


	6. Training... Start!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO LIKE
> 
> I'm really bad at actually keeping up with the fanfics I make? Mainly because I jump from idea to idea, but this fanfic still sits in my Google Doc just waiting to be finished. I'll be publishing some more chapters today as well, so stay tuned and sorry about the MASSIVE hiatus that this fanfic got

“Thank you for your hospitality, Ms. Sodo.” The prince bowed toward the innkeeper, who smiled and shrugged off his gratitude.

“Nonsense, Prince Hop. We simply show all our customers the comfort they deserve. Also, you’re still not done with your stay here, so don’t say those things like it’s farewell for now!”

Hop stood back up and smiled. “Yes, you’re right. You said the colosseum is right up the stairs when I leave the inn?”

“You got that right! You can’t miss it, it’s the only big building anywhere near here.”

“Thank you again. Oh and um…” Hop’s face turned a darker shade of red. “G-Give my regards to Victor for his kindness yesterday…”

“I’ll be sure to pass off your message.”

Hop nodded and nervously walked out of the inn with his Dubwool’s Pokéball in hand. It’s the only Pokémon he has right now, but he’s sure he’ll catch other Pokémon later to give Dubwool another companion. As he walked out of the inn, he walked to the right and headed right up the stairs as he was told. He opened the door to the colosseum, shaped and built the same as the other colosseums found all over the region, which served as the home of their respective Challenger Knight, as well as the battleground for any who wished to battle them. The Challenger Knight of Stow-on-Side was named Bea, who if he remembered right, specializes in Fighting types, along with her knight-in-training, Allister. Victor told him she is not one to pull any punches, not even for the prince of Galar. He walked up to the receptionist, looking around the empty lobby, it being early in the morning, and many residents of Stow-on-Side not being awake yet. The receptionist perked up at the sight of Hop.

“O-Oh! Your highness! We have been expecting you! Please, go right ahead for your training.” The girl nervously fixed her glasses, trying to land a good first impression with the young prince.

The prince merely sighed and thanked her. He’s tired of people treating him like he deserves special treatment no matter where he goes, even if he’s royalty. Even though his brother is very easygoing, many people treat his brother the same way. Maybe it’s out of fear because they would rather starve for a week rather than be on the bad side of the royal family.

As Hop walked past the receptionist and past another door to the battlefield, he was met by Bea and Allister on the opposite side of the field. The two knights walked toward the prince, Bea having more grace and presenting a more powerful aura than Allister. Even though they are called “Knights”, they do not really wear armor. They usually are wearing a uniform that is colored differently in order to differentiate their specialty in Pokémon typing. Allister’s uniform is purple, while Bea’s uniform is orange. Bea bowed to Hop and Allister quickly copied her, showing much more nervousness.

“Prince Hop, I’m delighted to be your trainer for Pokémon battling. My name is Bea and this is Allister, my apprentice.” Bea looked down to Allister with a slight smile, showing she has somewhat of a soft spot for him.

“G-Greetings Your Highness… my name is Allister… and I hope we have a good training session today…”

Hop chuckled. It doesn’t seem like Allister is nervous because of Hop, but he just seems to be a nervous person in general. Bea, on the other hand, looked back at Hop with a stoic face, showing that she is a hardened knight, with much experience in battle.

“Now, I’m sure you know the reason that we were chosen for your trainers?”

“Yes ma’am. I have a type disadvantage against both Fighting-types and Ghost types with my Wo-... my erm… Dubwool.”

“Oh? Your Wooloo evolved?” Bea’s face looked shocked, but still had much confidence in Hop’s abilities.

“Y-Yes, a resident of the Sodo Inn let me battle him, and my Wooloo evolved in the middle of the battle.”

“I-I beg your pardon? Y-You fought Victor?!” Bea’s face looked even more shocked, as Allister felt a chill go down his spine, much to Hop’s confusion.

“I-I er… yes… there was no deciding victor, as he stopped the battle when he watched Wooloo evolve. He seemed to know a lot about battling… do you know something about him?”

“W-Well… I assume he hasn’t told you… it’s not my place to say…” Bea’s normally calm composure faltered at Victor’s name, raising many questions for Hop.

Uncharacteristically, Allister changed the subject. “R-Regardless Your Highness…! W-We must begin your training…! Please… send out your Dubwool and we shall begin with our respective… partners…” The two knights quickly walked to the other side of the field, as Hop walked to his side, not taking his eyes off of the two, acting very suspiciously over the talk of Victor. Hop had to admit, it was weird that Victor only had a Raboot but he seemed to know so much about battling, even seemingly knowing that Wooloo was about to evolve, as his face had this… unspeakable expression when Hop mentioned his moveset. He would have to speak about this to Victor.

As the participants walked to their respective side of the field, Bea shouted to Hop. “Prince Hop! Your first battle will be with me! I will be using a Hitmontop, against your Dubwool! Please, send out your Pokémon!”

“Understood!” Shouted back Hop. He took out his Pokéball and sent it out, releasing Dubwool. Bea sent out her Hitmontop, as their training session began, with Allister carefully watching.

~

Victor walked downstairs yawning and greeted his mother. Looking around, he asked where Hop was.

“Oh, he went over to the colosseum for his training. He asked me to tell you that he thanks you for your…” Yvette cleared her throat. “your kindness.”

Victor rolled his eyes. “I’ll just talk to him more when he gets back then…”

Yvette looked back at her dishes that she was cleaning. “Help me out here, Vic?”

Knowing that Hop was at the colosseum tugged at Victor’s mind. “Y-Yeah, alright.”

He just hoped nothing bad would happen to Hop while he was away for training.

“Also… Victor.” Yvette’s voice turned sharp.

Victor simply put down his plates, not showing a hint of surprise at her sudden tone. “Yes?”

“How goes your training?”

Victor took a deep breath. “Proceeding just fine, ma’am.”

~

Hop let out a nervous sweat, as Dubwool and Hitmontop both stared at each other, both showing wear and tear, with scratches and bruises on both Pokémon. Even though Dubwool had the type disadvantage, he was holding up rather well against Bea’s Hitmontop.

“Yes, Prince Hop! Dubwool shows great promise! His Fluffy ability helps him greatly against his Fighting-type weakness! However…”

“H-However…?”

“There is one great flaw that Dubwool has. Allister! It is your turn!” Bea shouted to Allister, as she recalled Hitmontop. As Allister walked up to Bea’s position, Bea ran over to Dubwool to treat his wounds before Allister sent out his Pokémon.

“I will be using… Mimikyu…” Allister sent out the Disguise Pokémon, who snickered at being released.

Bea walked out of the way of the battle and kept instructing Hop. “Prince Hop, one great flaw your Dubwool has is type coverage.”

“Type coverage, ma’am?”

Bea nodded. “Try attacking Mimikyu, and you’ll see what I mean.”

Hop looked back at Mimikyu and ordered Dubwool to use Headbutt. As Dubwool charged right at Mimikyu, the attack fazed right past him.

“I-I understand… Headbutt and Double Kick both don’t affect Ghost-types at all…”

Bea nodded. “You catch on quick. I have done the research, and Dubwool is capable of learning some other moves, such as Grassy Glide or Wild Charge.” Bea held out a hand to Allister, who understood that it meant for him to recall Mimikyu. At that, Bea handed Hop a Technical Record. “This is TR83, Wild Charge. I went out for it just for your Pokémon. You can keep it, as the both of us have no use for it.”

Hop took the TR from Bea and nodded. “Thank you so much for your teaching!”

Bea nodded and smiled. “We’ll see you again tomorrow. You’ll be battling Allister to teach you about type coverage. I recommend you catch other Pokémon when you return to Wyndon, Prince Hop.”

Hop put the TR in his pocket, as he remembered what happened earlier in the session. “U-Uh, ma’am? W-Who is Victor really? You two showed such… nervousness at the mere mention of his name…”

Bea sighed. “It’s best if you hear it from him.” Bea walked over to Allister, preparing her Pokéballs for any challengers that could appear later in the day. Away from Hop and more towards Allister, she muttered, “I made a mistake losing my composure…”

Allister walked towards Bea, picking up on her anxiousness. “I-It was bound to g-get out eventually now that Prince Hop has arrived… M-Maybe he’ll just forget about this…”

Bea looked at Allister and shook her head. “As much as I wish for that to be true… his sense of curiosity will surely get the better of him. It’s only a matter of time before Victor’s true identity is revealed to the prince. I just ask that the prince does not go to the royal family with information that might put this entire town in danger…”

Knowing that his training was over, Hop hesitantly walked away from his two trainers and walked out of the colosseum after recalling an exhausted Dubwool back into its Pokéball. After bidding farewell to the nervous receptionist, he made his way back to the Sodo Inn.


	7. The Prince's Situation

As he opened the front doors to the inn, he was relieved to see no customers at the bar of the inn. Yvette then greeted him as he walked inside.

“Ah, hello, Prince Hop! I sure hope your training went well!”

“A-Ah, yes, thank you. Do you know where Victor is, ma’am?”

“Hmm…” Yvette looked up at the ceiling. “I believe he went back to your suite. I told him to clean it before you returned, so hopefully, he did that in time.”

Hop bowed and thanked Yvette as he made his way up the stairs. As he walked past the other rooms of the inn and to the door of his suite, he realized that the door was open just a crack. Before knocking and opening the door, he heard deep breathing, most likely Victor’s. He knocked on the door, before opening it a bit after. As he walked into his suite, he was greeted by Victor again.

“O-Oh, hey Hop! Training go alright?”

“Yes… everything was okay. W-What were you doing just now, if I may ask?”

“Oh you know, just finishing up cleaning your suite. We wanted to make sure your suite was clean before you came back.”

Hop nodded and went to lay down on his recently cleaned bed. He stretched and felt all over the bed. “Wow, this feels even more comfortable than it was when I arrived.”

Victor blushed at the compliment. “I-I’m glad you’re comfortable, prince.”

Hop smirked at Victor. “Again with the ‘prince’ thing?”

“Well, I guess it just comes out. Prince is a good nickname, too!”

Hop hummed. Making small talk was not getting his concern about Victor out of his mind. Bea and Allister were alert at Victor’s name, yet Victor seems like a normal young boy to Hop. Were they just tricking him, just because of his inexperience with the outside world? Hop frowned at the thought of being mocked. As he kept thinking, Victor walked over, and hesitantly spoke up.

“Uh… are you okay? You seem like something’s on your mind…”

“Well…” Hop looked at the wall, then back at Victor. “When I mentioned that my Wooloo evolved in a battle with you to Bea and Allister, both of them seemed kind of… nervous. Like they were surprised I had a battle with you. I didn’t even think you knew either of them personally.” Hop sat up in bed to listen to Victor’s response.

Victor raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Hmm? Well, I do know about Bea and Allister… but that’s simply because I live here. As for why they’d be nervous… I… really don’t know…?” Victor closed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Am I scary…?”

Hop giggled. “Scary is probably the last word I’d use to describe you, mate.” Hop then laid back down in his bed. Even though he and Victor hardly know each other, Hop didn’t think Victor was a bad person. There’s something about Victor that he thinks is too innocent, although Hop could probably be seen the same way, due to his inexperience as a member of the royal family. Hop’s eyes opened a bit as he felt his bed shake, and he noticed that Victor was now sitting on the bed with Hop.

“By the way, why’d you come to Stow-on-Side?”

“Well, Pokémon tr-”

“I meant, why Stow-on-Side specifically?”

Hop’s eyes widened a bit, as he fell silent. “I’m… not too sure. You would think someone like me would be more in-place at someplace like Hammerlocke, huh?”

Victor’s eyebrows rose. “W-Well, that’s not what I meant…” Victor rubbed the back of his head. “S-Sorry if that came off as rude…” 

Hop waved his arms in front of him and blushed. “N-No! You’re fine! Geez… I’m the one who came off as snobby there… B-But anyways, maybe my mom sent me here because of how sheltered I was as the prince? I think she thought that I'd be impossible to appease here, but I’m really enjoying my stay! I made friends with you, and I’d say that made this stay worthwhile!”

Victor’s face turned bright red, visibly embarrassed at Hop’s sudden declaration. “I-I’m glad that I made your stay a nice one…” Victor hid his face in his beanie and got up from the bed. “I-I forgot, I have more work to do in the bar… I-I’ll leave you so you can rest, Prince Hop!”

And with that, Victor fled the suite. Hop watched the entire thing with a smile, thinking about how cute Victor was when he was so flustered. After Victor was out of Hop’s sight, he thought to himself about the argument he had with his mother before he left for Stow-on-Side. He thought about his marriage or lack thereof. His mother really wants him to be married to some random girl to extend the family, although he does not know of anyone he could possibly marry. He doesn’t even have many people he talked to normally back in Wyndon, as he mainly was fine with just Leon and his mother. He only remembered having an exchange with a snobby noble named Bede, and he does not remember ever even liking him enough to approach him again after meeting him the first time. Everything was always about him being the brother of the champion of Galar, the king… What title would Hop be proud of, that he could call his own? Simply being a relative means nothing…

That, Hop thought, was the real reason he was sent to Stow-on-Side. Maybe he needed training from the strictest Challenger Knight out of the eight, as all the others usually had other things they did rather than battling. Milo has his farming, Nessa has her model career, Kabu has his exercise regimen…

The only other knight he could think of that was just as devoted to battling as Lady Bea was Sir Raihan. However, Raihan only sees himself as Leon’s one and only rival. Hop shudders to think how he’d respond to having to train his rival’s brother.

_ ‘But marriage…’  _ Hop thought to himself.  _ ‘How does Mother think I’ll have someone in my mind by age 14…? Lee doesn’t even have anyone and he’s 22...’  _ Hop’s face turned a slight tinge of red as he continued thinking about possible candidates, although he could count the candidates he even would consider marrying on one hand. Not all of them were female, either.

_ ‘I’ll just continue my training… hopefully, something comes from this…’ _


	8. The Professor

Leon arrived in Wedgehurst on top of his signature Charizard. Wearing a disguise to not attract too much attention (which somewhat backfired as soon as he landed as many residents of Galar could spot his Charizard from a mile away), he made his way through the small town to visit the professor’s lab located near the entrance of the city, a little bit away from another small village named Postwick. Before he entered the lab, he smiled at the sight of the small village, as it was where he and his mother lived before they were sent to Wyndon to live as the royal family. Wanting to at first do nothing with their noble status, his mother believed living in the small, rural village of Postwick was a good solution to her worries about her and her child’s social status, as she was also expecting another child within a few months, that being Hop. Her worries changed as Hop was born, and Leon soon showed natural talent with Pokémon battling. Before they knew it, Leon was able to defeat the champion and previous king of Galar when he was just a teenager, and while Hop was still only a small child.

Leon’s smile turned into a frown. He sometimes regrets being the king, as he took away what the previous king had rightfully earned, and he still thinks that Hop is not living a normal life as a teenager. Leon had fun battling and learning along the way, and Hop seems to show the same excitement for it… but Hop is being trained by another Challenger Knight. Leon had it all come to him naturally. Maybe Lena is pushing too much onto Hop…

He took a mental note of his thoughts as a conversation to bring up with his mother later. He turned back to Wedgehurst and walked into the laboratory. As he entered, he was faced with the familiar sight of bookshelves on both the first and second floor, with whiteboards containing scribbles of complex equations in the corner of Leon’s eye. To the immediate left of the entrance, there was a small seating area, with the right having what seemed to be a reception desk, although there is no one here besides Professor Sonia most of the time. Speaking of which…

“Professor? Are you here?” Leon called out.

Soon after, he heard a bump near the desk to his right and a groan. He walked over and was surprised to see Sonia rubbing her head, sitting behind the desk on the floor.

“Are you… alright?” Leon asked as he walked around the desk to help her up.

“Yeah… Yeah, this is nothing…”

Sonia let herself be helped by Leon as he reached out to pull her back on her feet.

“I was just looking for some papers in the drawers of the desk, and I got surprised when I heard you call out and BAM! I hit my head. I’m gonna lose some brain cells if I keep stumbling everywhere…”

Leon chuckled. Just the same Sonia he remembers.

“Anyways… something happen? Not like I don’t appreciate a periodical visit, but I know your schedule doesn’t make time for those.” Sonia talked as she walked to the whiteboard in the corner of the lab, studying the equations while also looking over the papers she got from the reception desk.

“I’ll just cut to the chase. Do you think the chancellor could revive Eternatus?”

Sonia stopped and simply looked at Leon from the corner of her eye with a serious gaze. Thinking for a moment, she turned back to her paper. “Although it could be possible with today’s technology, he would need another component. Why do you ask?”

“He came to Wyndon today, with some outlandish comment about Galar losing its energy in a thousand years from now. Although he claimed he has no solution, I know he must be thinking about reviving the Pokémon that could generate the particles we use to power our supply, Eternatus.”

“Outlandish is right. Reviving a Pokémon like that could simply drag us faster to that energy crisis.”

“And this… other component? What would that be?”

“Why, it’s simple yet unexplainable.” Sonia turned to Leon with a smile. “Magic.”

Leon’s face turned into a deadpan expression. “...Magic. As in, the magical elements only a handful of Galar’s residents have been known to possess? Hasn’t it been considered extinct?”

“Although it might be classified as extinct, if Rose came to you with this concern, I’m sure he knows something about magic.” Sonia fully turned to Leon as she began to explain the components of magic. “Back before it went extinct, there were six elements of magic in this region: wind, water, earth, fire, light, and dark. And you see, those same mages could also be able to learn the ritual of resurrection through their magical element of light. Although it’s not complete. With their resurrection spell, their target only comes back with around a quarter of their life force. They’d surely die again within a few years. Not even gathering several mages together can enhance their spell.”

“And you say this resurrection spell would be the component that Rose needs for resurrecting Eternatus?”

“I don’t know of any mage who could surpass that spell, nor do I know of any mage at all. However, with our age’s current technology, we could possibly inject life into their target, giving them the life force that they would need to live another lifetime.”

Leon’s expression turned serious. “He must know of a mage, then.”

Sonia interjected. “Or maybe, he simply came to this conclusion himself, and he doesn’t know of a mage yet.”

Leon pondered.  _ ‘How are we supposed to keep an eye on a mage, if we don’t even know if they still exist?’ _

Leon’s thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Sonia’s face harboring a wide grin. “Do you… want to say something?”

Sonia huffed in triumph. “I could possibly create a device for you to find a spot where magic elements could be coming from…!”

Leon chuckled. “You got that excited over a possibility?”

Sonia huffed again. “Come on! You know I can give this a shot! Maybe I could make a breakthrough here!”

Leon smiled. “Alright, Sonia. I trust you with this, then. I’ll go back to Wyndon and talk with Queen Mother Lena about this.”

Sonia chuckled and rushed over to the bookshelves that occupied a large area of the lab. “Off to work, I go then! Leave me, you’re gonna see a breakthrough in Galar’s history be born right here in this very lab!” Sonia waved off to Leon as she searched for a book about magic in her library.

Leon smiled to himself as he waved goodbye to his childhood friend, and exited the lab. He called out Charizard from its Pokéball and made his way back to Wyndon, not before receiving some excited glares and cheers from the residents of Wedgehurst again, noticing their king ride off from their city on his Charizard.


	9. Your Heart

Hop looked out his window, to the night sky of Stow-on-Side. Much unlike Wyndon, which was covered with tall buildings in the residential area and tall spires of the castle, the starry night sky was clearly visible here. He stared as he began to look for the constellations he was told about when he was younger. After a day full of training and pensive thoughts, he could use the time off to stargaze.

He was interrupted by Victor, who opened his door to bring in his dinner. “Your dinner’s ready, Hop.”

Hop turned back to him with a smile; gleaming with the addition of the moonlight shining on his face. “Thanks so much again, Victor. Your inn’s cooking definitely lives up to the reputation the people here give it.”

Victor smiled at the gesture. “And thank you for your kind words, Hop. It’s an honor to know the prince likes his stay here.” Victor chuckled, not meaning any harm by his comment.

The two teenagers went to Hop’s bed and sat down, as Hop began to eat his dinner. “Say Victor… do you have anyone you like?”

Victor blushed at the random question. “N-No… I don’t think I have anyone like that. I don’t talk to many people in Stow-on-Side as I mainly just stay here at the inn unless I have to go out to buy ingredients for our food…” Victor scratched his cheek in embarrassment. “I don’t think anyone has shown interest in me, either.”

Hop frowned as he saw Victor look down at his lap. “I um… didn’t mean to upset you…”

“Oh um, no, it’s nothing like that.”

“See, my mother wants me to marry someone so we can extend the royal family of Galar. Not even Lee- erm… King Leon married anyone, so it’s just me, my brother, and my mother in the castle.”

“Only three members of the royal family…”

“Exactly. I don’t know anyone I would even think of marrying… I’m kind of like you since I mainly just stay in the castle back at Wyndon.”

Victor quietly chuckled and thought to himself,  _ ‘I don’t think he needs me to tell him that an inn is nothing like a royal castle but I’ll just keep quiet…’ _

“But… since I don’t really talk to anyone… I’m not doing my job of extending the royal family.” Hop frowned.

Victor thought for a minute before responding. “Well… who said it needs to be right now?”

“Huh?” Hop looked at Victor.

“Your mom might think it’s easy to find someone to marry, but… and this is just something I heard… I think it really takes time for someone to find who they really love.” Victor raised his hand to his chest. “I’m probably not one who can talk about this, but I think your heart sorta… chooses on its own. Like, you’ll know who your soulmate is the moment you  _ feel  _ it.”

Victor lowered his hand, as Hop continued to listen. However, Victor simply turned to Hop and gave him a wide smile. “I know you’ll find the person you truly love, Hop. It’ll just take time. Don’t rush yourself into a marriage you’ll regret.”

Hop’s face turned a light shade of red as Victor stood up. Hop said nothing as Victor walked to the door. “And Hop?”

“Y-Yes, Victor?”

Victor turned back to him with a somewhat sad smile. “Don’t close yourself off to everyone. It’s… not healthy.”

Hop turned his head as Victor closed the door behind him.  _ “What did… he mean by that?’  _ Hop thought. He shook his head and finished up the dinner that Victor left for him. After some time, Hop took the tray that his dinner was on and left it on the table by the door, and laid in his bed, again staring at the stars.

_ ‘There’s so much I don’t understand… This training will surely show me more than just Pokémon battling…’ _

After staring out his window for a minute counting the stars in the sky, Hop drifted to sleep.

~

Victor silently peered into Hop’s suite from a crack in the door, smiling softly as he saw the prince sleeping. He quietly closed the door and turned to the stairs, where he saw his mother looking at him with a sharp gaze.

“How is he?” Yvette asked.

“Sleeping soundly. He looks… peaceful.” Victor’s neutral face grew into a small smile as he ended his sentence and looked at Hop’s door. However, he quickly looked back at his mother with his neutral face.

“The inn is closed. I’m sure Stow-on-Side must be asleep by now. We’ll continue your training outside in the clearing. Don’t be late, Victor.”

Victor closed his eyes and turned his head to the floor. “Understood, ma’am.”

“Also.”

Victor’s eyes opened, as his neutral expression turned into a confused one. “Yes?”

Yvette smiled softly. “Your heart does choose who it wants.” With that, Yvette nearly silently walked down the stairs and exited the inn.

Victor gasped silently at her statement, but shook his head and began to follow his mom, but not before he turned his head to Hop’s suite, smiling to himself. He turned his gaze back to the entrance to the inn and walked just as silently as Yvette out the door.

Yvette and Victor silently traveled to the same clearing where Hop and Victor had their Pokémon battle. However, Yvette was not here to battle.

“It’s just another day of magic training, Victor. Here, your Pokémon.” Yvette handed Victor a belt, with six Pokéballs attached to it.

Victor reached out and took the belt, as he wrapped it around his waist. “Thank you.”

“We’ll be focusing on the element of water today. We’ll be going through the different levels of spells you have already learned, along with finally teaching you the Mystic Spell of the water element, Hurricane’s End.”

Victor winced in response.

“You already know this, but I’ll go over it again as it is only your second Mystic Spell. Each element has its own tiers of spells. There are the novice spells, intermediate spells, expert spells, and then finally, Mystic Spells, which can cause significant damage if not handled properly. One out-of-control wave and you might end up drowning a whole forest of Pokémon.”

Victor winced yet again. He was given this same warning after learning how to perform the Mystic Spell for fire, Pyro Storm.

“Now, send out your partner!” Yvette called out, as she pulled out her own belt with Pokéballs. As she wrapped the belt around her waist, she took a Pokéball from the belt and threw it into the air. “Come out, Primarina!”

Victor watched the Pokéball release the Soloist Pokémon not native to Galar, who made its entrance with glamor and grace. Victor then called out his own Pokémon. “Help me, Milotic!”

The Tender Pokémon cried out in happiness for being released from its Pokéball after so long and immediately circled around Victor, showing much affection for him. Victor chuckled and pet Milotic as his mother watched with a smile. However, she cleared her throat as their training began.

Victor patted Milotic twice on the head, while Yvette simply nodded to Primarina. The two water types created distance between themselves and their trainers, as mages did not require the assistance of Pokémon in order to perform spells. That is until they perform a Mystic Spell.

“Now, Victor, we will go through the three spells and work our way up to Hurricane’s End. I’m sure you know how to perform them by now?”

Victor simply nodded. He then clasped his hands together as a blue circle formed underneath him. Not wanting to have Victor perform it by himself, Yvette followed as well, with a blue circle also forming underneath her. Together, they shouted an incantation to perform the novice water spell, Champagne.

**_“O’ caprice of innocent waters… Champagne!”_ **

Two small puddles emerged in front of them, one for each mage. It sparkled as bubbles rose up to the surface of the puddle, and it began to expand by only a small margin. To anyone who would be caught in said puddle, their legs would be getting stung by the bubbles that were popping from the puddle. However, nothing too dangerous. After repeated exposure, it could maybe leave a rash or even start to cut into your skin.

“Good, now onto the intermediate level, Splash.”

Again, the two clasped their hands together as another blue circle formed underneath the two of them. However, as they tightened their focus, rings began to form around them, covering them in a sort of magic sphere. They then were ready to cast the spell.

**_“Grant them thy undefiled purity… Splash!”_ **

Instead of a small puddle, a magic ball of water shot up from the ground in front of them and splashed water down beneath it with harsh pressure. If a normal human were to get caught in that, it’d be like jumping through a chute in a waterfall. In other words, some bones may be broken from the harsh pressure of the water that’d be raining down from above you.

Before, when Victor first started his mage training, this would be about where he would start to lose his focus and become weak. Mages cannot simply cast spells forever, as it takes energy from them the same way jogging or sprinting takes away energy from an average human. However, after repeatedly training, Victor has surpassed his short limits and can proceed now without a hitch onto the expert water spell.

Yvette simply nodded, as the two of them took a deep breath. They then clasped their hands together again, but instead of simply having rings float around them as it did for Splash, they were completely enveloped by a magic sphere. It’s almost as if they drew up the design themselves with their own hands, as they had to move their hands around seemingly wildly to draw the glyphs seen in the sphere. However, their movements were calculated to a t, as the sphere must be perfect in order for the spell to work. However, Yvette then stopped her cast, as two of these upcoming spells could drown an entire village. 

Instead of aiming in front of him in the small space he had before the land dropped into a steep incline downward, he aimed his spell for the empty land below, where he was sure no one would be crossing. Yvette watched satisfied, as Victor cast his spell, Tidal Wave.

**_“O’ mad and greedy waters… rise up and storm the very heavens! Tidal Wave!”_ **

A large circle of water appeared in the empty patch of land below Victor and Yvette, which turned into a whirlpool of water, with shots of water shooting upwards periodically. A large group of people could be easily drowned in the spell if they lose their footing in the whirlpool and try to swim against the current that flows in a clockwise motion. Normally, this spell is too dangerous for any reason besides educational uses. Needless to say, Tidal Wave was still just an expert spell. It wasn’t Hurricane’s End. Victor watched as the whirlpool subsided, leaving behind a mess of terrain in its wake. He shuddered to think of the destructive capabilities of a group of expert mages.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the water element covers a much broader area than the other elements do, and for this reason, it could be possibly the most dangerous element that there is.” Yvette explained with a stern look on her face, which Victor took as a warning. A warning to not use these spells unless absolutely necessary. Not even a whole town on fire could justify the use of more than one Tidal Wave spell.

“Now… you have to learn your second Mystic Spell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm dumb and wanted Victor to shout out incantations (bonus points if you figure out where they're from).
> 
> Anyways o shit Victor's a mage!


	10. Change of Focus

Hop awoke in the early morning yet again for his Pokémon training. However, it seemed he woke up a little too early, as it still was not the time for his scheduled training. He pulled out the Technical Record he received from Lady Bea and Dubwool’s Pokéball. After getting changed into his usual attire for training he went downstairs with both items in hand, where he found Yvette and surprisingly, Victor already in the lobby of the inn.

“O-Oh, I didn’t think you’d be awake so early, Victor.” Hop stuttered as he made his way down the flight of stairs.

However, Victor was panting. It was almost like he ran in a marathon and he was still trying to catch his breath. Yvette had a look of worry on her face as if Victor was suffering from some sort of condition.

“A-Are you alright?!” Hop rushed over to Victor who just held out his hand, trying to say he’s fine without words. Even though he was trying to say he was fine, Hop didn’t believe it. How could you be fine if you can’t even say it?

“I beg for your forgiveness prince, but please let me take Victor to his room.” Yvette looked at Hop with a serious expression, as Hop stuttered in response.

“Y-Yes, of course.”

Yvette and Victor walked slowly past Hop and they made their way up the stairs to Victor’s room. Hop looked on, plagued with worry, but he didn’t think that they would tell him anything about what Victor was going through. However, the thought of Lady Bea’s words came rushing to him.

_ “It’s best if you hear it from him.” _

This most definitely has something to do with why Lady Bea and her knight-in-training were shocked about hearing Victor’s name. Hop knew there was something that the Sodo family was keeping from him, but he didn’t know how to bring it up without prying or sounding rude. They were already being gracious enough to allow him to stay at their inn, it wasn’t his place to pry into family matters during his stay.

But… what if it was serious?

_ ‘What if Victor’s being abused? What if he’s being bullied? Is his mom the abuser? No, she looked too worried to be the one abusing him… Am I just overthinking things? What if he just… went to exercise and did more than he could handle?’  _ Hop’s thoughts were all over the place, but then, Victor’s door was shut and Yvette was coming down the stairs again, sighing.

“I-I don’t mean to pry but… is he okay?”

“Pry? Oh, no it’s fine! We were just doing some exercises and Victor sort of… did an exercise wrong and kept trying to do it until he could. It’s not healthy to keep failing at it like that…”

Unbeknownst to Hop, Yvette thought to herself. ‘ _ Well, I guess it’s not really lying, but Victor’s vitality was in danger just from him trying to use Hurricane’s End so sporadically like that…’ _

“I didn’t take Victor as the exercising type… but then again he does keep up with the inn’s needs so maybe he does exercise…” Hop crossed his arms and tilted his head, deep in thought. Too deep in thought to notice Yvette’s nervous giggling.

“But… he wasn’t awake the last time I went to practice…” Hop’s eyes opened, but Yvette was already rushing to the kitchen.

“We don’t do it every day, Your Highness! I do apologize, but I have to start getting the kitchen ready for our customers!” Yvette suspiciously blathered, striking Hop as unusual.

“Oh erm… okay… I’ll be going to the colosseum then… goodbye!” Hop waved as Yvette returned the gesture. Hop walked to the door but not before looking back at Yvette, who was sadly looking down at the oven, with her fists clenched. Hop sighed as he walked out the door.

~

Victor’s eyes slowly opened as the light from the window shined into his room. How long was he asleep? He still doesn’t have the energy to move around like he was last night-

Of course… last night.

**_“Brave brethren of the storm, heed my summons, and vanquish my enemies with the forces of the world’s ocean…”_ **

_ Victor shuddered as he tried to finish the incantation, with Milotic struggling to keep its focus with its trainer. Yvette watched on in earnest, ready to support Victor if he were to lose control. _

_ Just then, Victor’s magic energy faded as he fell to his knees, with Milotic also struggling to keep itself standing upright. This was just like what happened when he was learning how to use Pyro Storm. He has more experience now as a mage, so why can’t he cast the spell? _

_ Yvette sadly sighed as she walked toward Victor, giving him a hand to help him stand back up. _

_ “Don’t worry, no matter how experienced you are, it is always going to be difficult to use a Mystic Spell for the first time. It takes too much magic energy to use more than once every few days.” _

_ “N-No…” Victor was out of breath. “I can… do this…. Let me try again...” _

_ Yvette sighed as she walked over to her position again, with Primarina also watching Milotic closely. _

_ “Can you go again, Milotic?” Victor asked his Pokémon who simply nodded in response. _

_ Victor took a deep breath to calm himself down, as Milotic followed. He clasped his hands together again, as a deep-sea blue sphere surrounded him with a thick line connecting him and Milotic, symbolizing the use of a Mystic Spell. Victor tried to retain his focus and his energy, but he was struggling. _

_ “Victor, that’s enough! You and Milotic will faint if you keep going!” Yvette shouted. _

_ “M-Milotic...?! Gah!” Victor lost his focus again as he fell to the ground, not having enough energy to even keep himself from laying on the floor. Milotic slowly fell as well, completely drained of its energy. _

_ Victor gasped for air, as Yvette rushed to help him, handing him Milotic’s Pokéball. Victor recalled Milotic, thanking it and apologizing for taking it too far. Yvette helped Victor stand up, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She recalled Primarina, as the two began to stumble back to the inn. _

Victor sighed in remembrance of his failure. The spell took way more energy than he thought it would, maybe because of the element being so much stronger than the fire one. He tried getting up, but he still couldn’t muster the energy to. Just then, his door was opened by Yvette, who also had Raboot rush into the room in front of her, who jumped onto Victor’s bed, filled with worry.

“Are you feeling better, Vic?” Yvette asked considerately.

“I’m… I’m fine.” Victor lied as he tried to pet Raboot, but couldn’t.

Seeing right through Victor, Yvette sighed and clasped her hands together, performing a spell. Victor didn’t know what spell she could possibly be casting, but the circle below her dissipated and a green sparkly circle arose from her head and flowed into Victor’s body. Like an elixir, Victor instantly felt regenerated.

“What… what was that…?” Victor asked, looking at his hands and how easily he could open and close his fists compared to mere seconds ago.

“Charge. It’s a supportive spell. It transfers some of my energy to you.”

Victor looked at his mother worriedly, but Yvette smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Now that I think about it, I should start teaching you supportive spells rather than keep teaching you destructive ones.”

“What do those do…?”

“It mainly focuses on just healing another person’s wounds and general health, yet you can also use them to heal yourself. Healing spells can range from healing one person to healing an entire building’s capacity of people.”

Victor sat up. “Please. Teach me.”

Yvette shook her head. “You know the rules. Only during the night. Especially now, that you just started feeling better. I’ll give you the day off and I’ll handle the inn for today. I’d rather you simply stay in your room and rest, but I feel like you’d go off and follow Hop anyways.”

Victor’s eyes widened. “H-Huh? Where is he?”

“In the colosseum. Don’t you remember he’s here for training?”

“O-Oh, of course. I’ll… go see how he’s doing, then.”

Yvette smiled and walked out of Victor’s room, wishing him luck. Victor got up from the bed and began to get ready to follow Hop into the Colosseum. This time, however, he decided to bring his belt of Pokémon with him, rather than just Raboot.

“Stay here and watch the inn with mom, okay?” Victor smiled at Raboot and patted its head.

“Boot!”

Raboot jumped out of Victor’s bed and rushed out the door, following Victor’s orders and going down the stairs to help out Yvette. With that, Victor got up out of bed and rushed out of his room to go to the colosseum.


	11. Y-Your Highness!

King Leon kept riding through the skies on his Charizard, thinking to go back to Wedgehurst to check on Sonia’s progress on the magic… thingamajig she said she would create for him, but instead got a better idea. Why not check on his beloved little brother and how he was doing? Stow-on-Side wasn’t too out of the way, so he believed it was worth the detour. He told his Charizard to travel to the southeast of Wyndon to arrive at Stow-on-Side, as his Charizard embarrassingly shook its head and traveled southwest instead, which was the correct way.

Leon kept whistling along to the song that was stuck in his head, the song that was being played during his battle against the previous king of Galar. Ever since he traveled to Wedgehurst and got a good look at the now unpopulated Postwick, he began to think back to his match way more. He didn’t regret the actions that led to him becoming the new king of Galar, but he found himself reflecting more and more. Soon after, the desert region showed a small town amongst the canyons and the hills. However, a sight caught Leon’s eye.

“What happened there…?”

Charizard slowed down as Leon looked upon a destroyed piece of land, about the size of a building’s perimeter. It looked as if a heavy rainfall descended upon the land, but only in that area. As Leon watched on, he began to think about the possible causes, as an oddity like this shouldn’t be something the king should simply look over.

“Was it just that? Rainfall? But that area is too small for simple rainfall… Was it a Pokémon native to the area?” Leon kept thinking to himself, but a desert region doesn’t seem to be a correct habitat for a Water-type, especially one as powerful as a Pokémon who could create that much destruction. Living amongst Pokémon like that could prove hazardous, yet there it is… Stow-on-Side.

Leon saw just how close the destruction was to the town and he pondered about the possibility of it being caused by a resident of the town. He commanded Charizard to land near the town, as it wasn’t a conclusion he could simply jump to without getting to know the natives better first.

Leon and Charizard walked into the town, as Leon looked around for where his brother could be staying. Just then, a resident called out to the rest of the other natives.

“E-Everyone! It’s the king! His Highness is here!”

Leon looked in front of him, thinking to himself about how bad a decision it was to leave the castle without some form of disguise to prevent this. However, he kept a smile on his face, not wanting to make his people think that they were a nuisance. A small crowd then formed in front of him, all showing their respect by bowing.

“Now now, I don’t need all that. I do appreciate the respect, but I’m simply just here to check up on my little brother.” Leon said calmly, as a resident stood up to point him to the Sodo Inn.

“Your Highness, Prince Hop is staying at the Sodo Inn over there, which is the best establishment we can provide for housing. I-I saw him go over to the colosseum a while ago though and he hasn’t come out yet…”

“Got it, I’ll check the colosseum first then. Thank you.” Leon walked past the residents who all stood aside to let the king pass.

“It is my honor, Your Highness.” The nameless commoner bowed again as Leon walked to the colosseum, shaped the same as all the other colosseums throughout the region. If he was not mistaken, this was the colosseum that belonged to the Fighting-type specialist, Bea. However, it was also training someone named Allister, who would be a Ghost-type specialist.

Leon entered the colosseum and greeted the receptionist as casually as he could, but that didn’t calm down the already anxious receptionist.

“Y-Your Highness! The prince is inside, c-continuing his training! B-But, he also has a resident watching him… n-named Victor!” The receptionist fixed her glasses and bowed to the king.

“Thank you, miss…?”

“A-Ah… forgive me for my impertinence! M-My name is Alice, Your Highness! It is my honor!”

“Thank you, Ms. Alice. I believe the colosseum did a good job in picking you as its receptionist.” Leon walked past the receptionist, who was thanking him endlessly for his compliment.

As Leon walked into the colosseum, he heard Hop commanding his Dubwool to attack a Mimikyu with Wild Charge. However, Allister very quickly commanded the battle to halt, much to Hop’s confusion. Victor, Bea, and Allister all quickly rose and bowed, as Hop turned around, and quickly struggled to form a sentence to his brother.

“L-Lee?! What’re you doing here?!” Hop threw his hands back in surprise.

Leon walked up to Hop and gave him a brotherly noogie, much to Hop’s anguish. “What, a guy can’t check up on his little brother?”

“C-Come on, shouldn’t the king and the prince be acting better than this in front of knights and the residents of Stow-on-Side?!” Hop cried, just wanting the noogie to stop.

Leon let him go. “Alright, alright. I believe I did interrupt your battle but, is that your Wooloo that evolved into a Dubwool?” Dubwool walked to Leon, who let out a mighty and proud “baa!”, to signify that it was indeed Hop’s Pokémon. “Well well well, how did this happen?”

Hop stuttered again and looked over to Victor. “Well uh, Vic helped him grow a little with a battle.” In response, Victor quickly shivered a little as that made it seem like he fought the prince of Galar like a hooligan. “I-I uh! I asked him to do it! It was me! He just went along!”

“Relax! I didn’t say anything!” Leon then walked over to Victor, who was still shaking nervously. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna bite. Hop said your name was ‘Vic’, huh? Let’s go talk over there by the audience stands.”

“Lee, I swear…!”

“Calm down bro, I’m not gonna do anything! Anyways, Lady Bea and Sir Allister,” The two knights rose up in response to their names. “Please proceed with my brother’s training.” Allister quickly nodded and returned to his position in the field without a word.

Lady Bea pressed a fist to her chest like a knightly salute. “As you wish, Your Highness.” She then followed Allister to his side of the field. “Allister, you must remember to agree with His Highness if he gives you an order, no matter how casual it is.”

“Y-Yes, I… apologize. H-He was just… really intimidating…”

Bea softly smiled at her apprentice. “He might seem intimidating when you first meet him, but he’s an earnest and respectable man, as a human being, and as a king. He won’t do you harm.”

Allister shakily nodded. “O-Okay.”

Hop looked over at Leon, who simply nodded to his position on the field, then Victor, who nodded, but was still struck with fear. Hop turned his body with his gaze still on them both but then walked back to his side of the field. Allister and Hop then continued their battle as their respective Pokémon followed them to their side of the battleground. Leon patted Victor on the back, and the two walked over to the stands to have their conversation.

“So, your name’s ‘Vic’?” Leon asked, as casually as he possibly could, to not further scare Victor towards a heart attack. However, Victor felt as if his heart was already beating 4x quicker than a normal heart rate.

“I-I! M-My name’s actually V-Victor, Y-Your Highness…” Victor’s eyes were tightly shut, to prepare for

Leon chuckled. “Nickname basis already, huh? I’m glad little Hopscotch is making friends out here, even though he was originally just here to train. I guess having him come out here was a better decision than I thought.”

Victor’s eyes slowly opened. Wow, King Leon didn’t behead him! “Y-You’re… not angry…?”

Leon confusingly looked at Victor. “Why would I be upset?”

“I-I’m a commoner, Your Highness…”

Leon frowned. “Ah. Well… social status is nothing that we can control. It’s just something that’s determined when you’re born, based on what your parents are. And… your parents couldn’t control what their status was when they were born either. We can control what we do with our social status, though.” Leon smiled at Victor again. “I’m just happy Hop made a friend at all. He always seemed very lonely back at the castle. So, if anything I have to thank you.”

Victor’s face immediately turned bright red. “N-No, Your Highness, he’s a g-great friend!”

Leon chuckled. “I’m glad.” However, his face turned a bit more serious. “Well, there’s also another thing I wanted to talk about. How exactly did Hop’s Wooloo evolve?”

Victor’s shoulders tensed up. “W-Well, the first night he stayed, he wanted to get some training before his actual training the next day, so he asked to battle. I-I only went with it once he told me how he wanted to get stronger for Galar so he could help you.” As Victor spoke, the two shifted their gaze over to Hop commanding his Dubwool on the battlefield, trying to outmaneuver Sir Allister’s Mimikyu. “He’s really trying his best… I guess he just wants everyone to know how hard he’s trying…”

“So you’re saying you two battled, and Wooloo evolved into Dubwool then?”

Victor looked at the ground next to him, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and guilt. “Y-Yes, Your Highness. He looked so… happy. Like it was his first big step.” Victor smiled as his cheeks began to flush. “It was nice seeing someone so happy because of something I did… especially that someone being the prince of Galar himself.”

“Seems like you hold Lil’ Hopscotch in high regard.” Leon grinned at the commoner who simply rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“H-His drive to get better really did move me, but yes. I do respect him a lot, Y-Your Highness.”

Leon lightly punched Victor’s shoulder in an attempt to ease him up. “Lighten up, you’re as stiff as a board there.”

“I-I have to ask… why is it that you and the prince both seem to not want to have others think about your nobility…?”

Leon’s smile faded for a moment as he began to think out loud. “I can’t speak for Hop as he might have his own reasons, but it’s not like I’m the most experienced human being out there, even in Galar, my own kingdom.” Leon’s smile came back as he continued. “I simply don’t have the right to have everyone in my kingdom have me on such a high pedestal when I know anyone could know something or be able to do something that I can’t.” Leon winked at Victor. “Like magic, perhaps?”

Victor felt a shiver run down his spine as he quickly turned to face King Leon, who’s face switched from a playful expression to a serious frown in response to his sudden shock. “Answer me truthfully, Victor. Are you or someone else in this town capable of performing spells?”


	12. Magic Show

“I-I um…” Victor was reeled in shock. He has never been able to lie well, much less to the king of Galar himself!

_‘Oh no... oh no, oh no, if I lie and he finds out, he could have my head! He could have my mom’s head! If I just say yes, he could take me away! What the hell do I do?!’_

“Victor.” King Leon repeated.

“Y-Y-Yes, Your… Highness…?”

“I know what you’re thinking. ‘I could be killed if he finds out…’ am I right?”

“H-How did… you know…?”

Leon scratched his head. “As for the magic thing, there’s a massive mark of land that’s drenched, and it doesn’t make sense for rainfall to pick only that specific area. No Water-type Pokémon are native to this area either.” He then sighed. “As for reading your mind… well…” The king looked down at the ground. “One thing I’ve never been able to change… is the people’s innate fear of the one who holds absolute power in this kingdom.”

Victor simply shivered as he tried to speak. “Y-Your Highness…?”

“You’re feeling it now, aren’t you? The thought of me possibly harming you for having some… power that was thought lost to time.”

Victor took a deep breath to calm himself as he reverted back to how he was positioned while talking to the king before. He turned his gaze back to Hop as the king continued.

“You mages do hold extraordinary power. And I’m not sure how many there are of you, whether you be living in Stow-on-Side as a commoner, or even in Wyndon as a noble.” Leon turned his gaze to Hop as well. “And maybe that power can be a big threat to me and my kingdom. But just as it can be a big threat, it can also be a big help.”

Victor sighed. “W-Well… if you need any further confirmation…” Victor turned to look at Leon, who stared straight back at him. “I am a mage and… so is my mom. But as far as I know, we’re the only mages still alive.”

Leon’s eyes widened. “Y-Your mom, too?”

Victor simply nodded in response; his confidence peaking in a manner it never had before.

Leon closed his eyes. “Another question.”

“H-Huh?”

“Does Hop know about you being a mage?”

Victor sadly turned his head back to Hop, who was now cheering his victory over Allister’s Mimikyu. Hop turned to wave at Victor and Leon, as Victor simply gave a sad smile and waved back. “No. I didn’t tell him.”

“I think he and I should see your spells firsthand. You and your mom both. The fact of the matter is, you two might be in danger.”

“H-Huh?!”

“Not from the royal family, but in danger of Chancellor Rose.”

“T-The chancellor…?”

“The famed professor of Galar and I both have reason to think that he is planning to revive Eternatus, a poisonous dragon that was vanquished years ago.”

“I-I’m not sure I follow…”

Leon turned to look at Victor. “You and your mom both need to hear this. And I believe Hop has to as well.”

“I-I…”

Hop then came running at the two, interrupting their conversation. “Hey! Did you two see that?! I really think I’m getting the hang of battling!”

Leon smiled at Hop but Victor was still deep in thought, regretting his actions of telling the king of his family. Hop looked at Victor, expecting him to say something… but nothing.

“Victor? Are… you feeling okay? You look pale.”

“No, I’m… I’m fine.”

Hop sighed. “Lee, if you threatened Victor about being near me again so help me Arceus-”

Leon interjected. “Hold on there Hopscotch, since when do I threaten anyone about you?”

Hop simply frowned. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how the residents of Wyndon think twice about even approaching me because you give them a dirty look from behind me!”

Leon playfully winced. “Ouch, that hurts, little bro. What’s a king if he can’t even protect his younger brother?”

“I’m not a child anymore, Lee!”

Victor thought to himself while the two bickered. _‘Hop seems so… carefree when he talks to his brother. It’s like he really isn’t afraid at all of facing the king himself with his own words.’_

He then interjected. “Hop, it’s okay. Your Highness wasn’t threatening me. Although… I do think I should take you two to the inn.” He faced Leon with renewed confidence and the king simply nodded.

“Hop, is your practice over? Your friend here has to show us something.”

Hop tilted his head and crossed his arms in confusion. “Y-Yes, my practice is over but… what’s this about?”

“Hop.” Leon sternly addressed his younger brother; gone was the playful tone he had before.

Hop winced. “Y-Yes, I understand.” He then ran back to Lady Bea and Sir Allister and muttered something to them that Victor and Leon could not hear. The two knights sighed and simply nodded. Hop, even more confused than before, returned to Victor and Leon, as the three made their way toward the Sodo Inn without a word.

The walk back was suffocating for Victor. To his right, the king of Galar, with a serious look on his face, was about to be let in on the secret he and his mother were forced to keep quiet about for as long as Victor could remember. To his left, the prince of Galar, who he has been lying to this whole time about his true identity. Hop didn’t seem serious, more so nervous, as Victor could see a drop of sweat trickling down Hop’s forehead, then his cheek. The residents of Stow-on-Side stared at the three with nervous expressions, as if they were watching Victor be walked to his own execution. Shortly after leaving the colosseum, they arrived at the inn where Victor opened the door to a shocked Yvette.

“Y-Your Highness?! I knew you arrived in Stow-on-Side but I would’ve never expected you to visit our inn!” Yvette quickly put down the dishes she was cleaning in the kitchen and quickly ran to the front door to bow to her royal guests.

Victor made sure to shut the front door before speaking. “M-Mom I um… The king knows about our… magic.”

Hop slowly let his arms fall to his sides as Yvette’s eyes turned wide. “W-Whatever do you mean…?”

“He saw the aftermath of our training when he was flying on his Charizard to this town. This is… all my fault…”

Yvette simply stared at Victor in awe, but Leon spoke up. “Let me be clear. I am not going to harm either of you. I am only here to see magic with my own eyes.”

Victor began to sniffle as his eyes began to grow misty. Yvette quickly hugged Victor and pleaded to King Leon to give the two a moment alone, to which the king agreed. Hop remained next to Leon, completely in shock of what just transpired. As the Sodo family left the royal brothers to speak alone in the kitchen, Hop spoke quietly.

“W-What… Victor? A… A mage?” Hop’s eyes remained as widened as they were when Victor first spoke to his mother.

“Your friend there practices magic, I assume when you were busy or weren’t looking. We need people like them,” Leon looked down at Hop. “and we need to keep them safe.”

“Safe?” Hop turned to Leon. “S-Safe from what?”

“I’ll fill you in on the details later, but Hop. Don’t think badly of Victor. I know he just wanted to keep his own family safe.” Leon looked on as the Sodos remained in each other’s embrace.

Victor spoke quietly, away from Leon and Hop, to his mother. “I-I’m sorry… I know we were supposed to keep it a secret after he…”

Yvette tried to calm Victor down with a ‘shh’. “It’s okay Vic. I knew something was gonna happen the minute Prince Hop arrived here at Stow-on-Side. I didn’t expect the king himself to figure it out the way he did, but this is my fault too. I should’ve made sure to clean up our mess after training.”

“B-But I…” Victor tried to remind his mother that it was him who collapsed trying to cast Hurricane’s End, but Yvette was not having any of it.

“It’s okay. The king himself said he isn’t going to hurt us. And even if he was, I’ll always protect you, no matter who I have to fight. Do you understand?”

Victor sniffled again and dried up his tears. With a smile, he said, “I’ll… I’ll protect you too, mom.”

Yvette smiled at her son, as the two hugged again. The two stood up and faced the royal brothers. It was Yvette’s turn to confirm what they were to the king.

“Yes, Your Majesty. We are indeed mages, ones who use the elements of magic.”

Leon nodded. “Show me.”

Yvette and Victor turned their backs to the brothers as they signaled them to follow the Sodos past the inn’s back area to the clearing where they practiced their casting. The same area where Victor and Hop had their battle. Hop looked around, in awe that he was battling Victor in the same place where elements that he has never seen before were also conjured. As they all arrived at the clearing, Victor stepped forward and removed a Pokéball from his belt. Hop stared at the belt Victor wore, not getting close enough to him at the colosseum to notice it. He was too focused on what Leon and Victor were thinking about after his practice was finished too.

Hop thought to himself. _‘How could I not have realized he was carrying six different Pokéballs with him…? I was trained to observe my surroundings well in my battling but… I’m not picking it up as fast as I thought…’_ Hop shook his head. _‘This isn’t about me. Victor has been hiding this from me this entire time. What is it that he can do with these extra Pokémon he has besides his Raboot?’_

“I’ll… I’ll go first. I’ll try chaining my spells, like how you taught me, mom.” Victor threw his Pokéball and let out his Pokémon, who Hop recognized to be a fully grown Cinderace.

“W-What? Is that Raboot?” Hop thought out loud as Leon and Yvette questioningly looked at him. 

Victor turned around and said, “Don’t you remember I said that Raboot was a gift from my dad? This is… my dad’s own Cinderace. It’s his... memento.”

Hop’s mouth hung open in shock. Leon frowned and looked to the ground, as Yvette clenched her chest merely for a moment. Hop and Leon apologized to the two for their loss, but Victor shook his head.

“I’m okay. I’ll tell you about it later, Hop.” Cinderace looked back at Victor, smiled sadly, and turned back around, which got a sigh out of Victor.

Yvette thanked the two brothers for their condolences as Victor began to cast the spells that he knows of the fire element. He clasped his hands together and looked off to the area that remained drenched in water from Victor’s training that night. As a red circle formed around Victor’s feet, he called out:

_**“Flames come forth, Fireball!”** _

Just then, three small fireballs appeared out of thin air and hovered to the drenched land, where they landed and created a small explosion. Enough to burn an average human body. However, Victor’s magic circle quickly formed into the same layers of the circle that appeared from the intermediate water spell. He continued to cast his spells, as Yvette motioned for the two brothers to start creating distance between them and Victor.

_**“O’ raging embers merge with thy winds, Crown Fire!”** _

A swirling gale appeared from Victor’s position as it traveled to the same area where the fireballs landed. As it traveled, it became red in color until it eventually exploded once it reached the mark left behind by Victor’s fireballs. He continued to cast as he seemingly began to draw symbols in thin air as the layered circles around him formed into a red sphere. As he was focusing on his next spell, Cinderace began to ready itself for its link with Victor. It stomped the floor as its feet were set on fire, and focused heat into his hands. Victor finally shouted:

_**“O’ merciless conflagration, burn the very souls of my enemies, Crimson Flare!”** _

A massive ball of fire appeared above the drenched land as flames spewed out from underneath it, evaporating all of the water that was still there. As the brothers looked on in awe, Yvette again motioned for them to step further back. As they continued making their distance, a line formed between Cinderace and Victor, as the two synced together for a Mystic Spell. Victor’s red sphere turned solid as he was covered in a dark red sphere. Cinderace roared into the sky as Victor’s incantation for this spell began to echo throughout the area:

_**“Flames gather around me! Scorch my enemies with your merciless hellfire! Toast… burn…! Pyro Storm!”** _

The red sphere around Victor disappeared as a ring of fire formed around Cinderace and Victor. The ring then rose to the skies to form a massive tower of swirling flames around the two, burning bright enough to evaporate a tidal wave. The brothers stared at the tower with their mouths wide open in shock, preparing to protect themselves. However, as quickly as the flames appeared, they dissipated, leaving just Victor and Cinderace there in their original positions. Victor fell down to one knee; the chaining of all those spells, especially with the only Mystic Spell he could perform at the end, took a toll on him.

“V-Victor!” Hop ran past Leon and Yvette to him and grabbed his shoulders. “Victor, are you okay?!”

“Hop…? I’ll be fine… I just need a moment…” Victor shakily stood up on his own feet as he walked tiredly back to where Leon and Yvette were waiting, together with Hop being right behind him just in case he fell. Cinderace calmly walked back as well, seemingly still full of energy. 

As Victor finally made it back to Leon and Yvette after what felt like an hour, Leon was there to greet Victor with a shocked expression. “I… I didn’t expect for a mage to have such power…”

Victor sadly looked to the ground as Hop wrapped Victor’s arm around his own shoulder. This got a smile out of Victor, as the two sat down next to Leon. Yvette turned to the two and kneeled down to cast the same spell she used to invigorate Victor in his own room, making him feel somewhat normal again. Hop still remained by his side, worried for his safety. Yvette stood up and stepped forward.

“I’m next.”


	13. You and Me... Together Again

“Are you going to be okay, Vic?” Hop asked as Victor remained sitting down next to him, still huddled next to him.

“I-I’ll be fine, my mom just shared a bit of energy with me.”

“H-Huh? Mages can do that, too?”

“Yeah, I can’t because I only know how to cast offensive or destructive spells so far. My mom actually knows many more spells than me, including supportive spells that can heal others.” Victor looked over to his mom as she got ready to cast her spells and amusingly, not releasing any Pokémon. “Come to think of it… I haven’t ever seen her at full power.”

Cinderace sat down next to Victor and huffed. He smiled and thanked Cinderace before recalling it back to its Pokéball. Before being recalled, Victor could recognize the faintest smile form on Cinderace’s face, which relieved him. As he held Cinderace’s Pokéball in his hand, Hop shook him a little.

“You have to stay with me.”

“H-Hey, I’ll be fine! I told you, my mom-”

Hop shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“H-Huh?” Victor’s face turned a light shade of red, but before Hop could explain, Yvette called out that she was ready. Leon called back out to her.

“I apologize Ms. Sodo, but I need you to show me what you’re capable of so I can have a full understanding. After watching Victor, I gotta have a better idea of what a fully grown mage can do.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” Yvette turned around and took a deep breath. Just then, she felt the faint presence of some unknown source, similar to her or Victor’s own magic.

_ ‘Hm…?’ _

She looked around without trying to draw attention to herself and quickly realized that not even Victor felt the disturbance. After a bit of further inspection, she noticed that the presence didn’t seem hostile. However, she still kept her guard up as she again drew a deep breath.

As her breathing stabilized, she clasped her hands together and began to cast her spells, but the time needed for her to cast her spells felt way shorter than Victor’s. As expected of a fully trained mage. Unlike Victor, however, she seemed to be skipping right towards an expert-level spell. As for which one, Victor couldn’t tell. The same magic sphere that enveloped him as he was casting Crimson Flare is enveloping Yvette as she called out:

_**“O countless particles that wander the heavens, rain down and glorify the land! Meteor Storm!”** _

Out of nowhere, massive magic circles appeared from thin air above Yvette as big meteorites rained down onto the same area Victor was aiming his spells at. It left the other three in shock, as Victor never knew mages learned such destructive spells. As the meteorites kept raining down, Yvette began to float into the air, stopping the meteorites.

“M-Mom…?” Victor shuddered as she continued to show her true power.

Yvette held out her arms in front of her, as four magic circles, even bigger than the ones before, appeared above, below, and to her right and left. Each one the color of the four different elements of magic, leaving out light and dark. Yvette’s voice resounded through the clearing as she chanted:

_**“Earth… Water… Wind… Fire… All shall be led to one truth! One judgment that befalls us all! Elemental Meteorites!”** _

Just then, many smaller meteorites began to spawn from the four circles, all being the same color of whichever circle they came from. All the explosions that came forth and landing onto the destroyed land were of one of the four elements and the radius they were creating wasn’t too large, but the sheer amount of meteorites that were raining down were astronomical. As the meteor shower stopped, Yvette floated gently down back to the ground, seemingly still full of energy. Before anyone could say anything about her sheer destructive capabilities, she clasped her hands together and began to cast another spell. Victor noticed that it was another expert level spell, but the magic sphere surrounding her was white, symbolizing the element of light. Yvette then began to chant again:

_**“Root of all creation… grant us the breath of life! Revitalize!”** _

As she called out the incantation for a spell Victor recognized as a supportive spell, a giant white circle appeared on the utterly destroyed land and was then filled in with a complex design. The circle then began to glow and emit a deep-blue sparkle, as the craters and destruction left behind by both of the mages began to disappear, and instead be filled in with more land and patches of lively grass. Peculiar for a desert region, but it still looked beautiful. Hop stared with his eyes glistening at the sight.

“W-Wow…”

King Leon nodded his head and simply swallowed nervously. “L-Like nothing ever happened…”

The magic circle dissipated and left behind a beautiful patch of grass and flowers, drifting in the breeze. Yvette nodded and walked back to the other three, just to bow in front of Hop and Leon, keeping her thoughts to herself about the faint presence.

_ ‘Just what was that feeling…? Like I was being watched…’ _

However, she decided to respond to the royalty in front of her. “Mages can be very destructive… but we can also be just as supportive to others, Your Majesty.” She turned to Victor, who was still in Hop’s arms, watching his mom with wide eyes. “Sorry, Vic for not showing you this before. But this is what you could be capable of if you pursue your magic training as diligently as you are now.”

Victor simply nodded as words seemed to not be able to form. After a brief moment of silence, Hop looked at Yvette and Leon.

“Sorry Lee, could you give me and Victor a moment alone? Y-You too, Ms. Sodo, if that’s alright with you.”

The two adults looked at each other and nodded. “Sure Hopscotch… I’ll be with Ms. Sodo back at the inn. I think we have some things to talk about, anyway.”

“Vic, please don’t disrespect the prince while I’m gone, okay?”

Victor huffed and looked away. “Like I’ve been doing that at any point…”

The other three chuckled as Leon and Yvette walked back to the inn. Hop and Victor remained at the clearing, watching the huge patch of grass that Yvette created from the destroyed rubble that was left behind by Victor and Yvette’s magic spells. The two remained quiet for a moment, but it was interrupted by Victor, still being held by Hop.

“I-I’m okay you know, you don’t really have to keep holding me…”

“Huh?” Hop finally realized he has basically been coddling Victor this entire time and his face turned a deep shade of red. “G-Geez! Sorry, I’m really sorry about that!” Hop scooched away from Victor, leaving him to finally sit on his own. Unbeknownst to the prince though, Victor was already missing his body heat as he scooted away.

“It’s okay…” Victor shuffled as he crossed his legs. He watched the grass in the distance and spoke out loud. “It’s crazy, isn’t it… I didn’t even know we were capable of doing things like what my mom just did…”

Hop scooted a bit closer to Victor and watched the grass with him. “This was my first time seeing it too… but even the spells you did were unbelievable…”

Victor shook his head.  _ ‘I might’ve been in shock after seeing my mom, but I could just imagine what it’s like for Hop right now since it’s his first time seeing magic.’ _

“Y-You’re right. I’m sorry for not thinking about your feelings about all this.”

Hop chuckled. “Not at all, Vic. You’re just fine.”

“Good to know.” Victor tried looking in another direction to avoid the conversation getting any more awkward, but ended up just looking back at Hop. “S-So, what did you mean before? When you said you wanted me to um…” Victor broke eye contact with Hop as he continued. “S-Stay with you?”

“Oh um…” Hop scratched the back of his head. “Y-You see, my brother, said that you were in trouble because of you being a mage. A-And your mother is in trouble too. So I was just thinking… you two should come back to Wyndon with us.”

Victor was shocked, to say the least. Not only was he being asked to move to a mostly noble occupied town, but to move in with the royal family, too? Where would he even sleep? How can Hop be okay with this? Does the king know anything? Limitless amounts of questions flooded Victor’s mind, but Hop shook his hands in front of him, grabbing Victor’s attention again.

“I-I know it’s a lot to ask! But I just… don’t want you to be in trouble, you know? You’re the… only real friend I have.”

“Hop aren’t you… mad I kept this all a secret from you?”

“Mad? Well… I guess I was a little upset when I first heard you tell your mother in front of me that you two were mages and that Lee already knew. But when Lee told me that you two could be in danger because of it, I knew there had to be a reason you kept it a secret. I mean… everyone in the kingdom still thinks that mages are an extinct race. To think that not only one, but two mages are still alive, has to be really stressful does it not? Comparable to even the king’s stress of ruling the kingdom, I’d bet.”

Victor thought for a moment before responding to Hop’s blind trust in him.  _ ‘I… don’t think I’ve ever met a more naive prince, even in fairy tales… but maybe that’s what makes him so approachable and likable…?’ _

“I don’t think it’s been… stressful per se. The only real stressful part about it was actually keeping up with my training without collapsing… but that hasn’t been going too well, as you no doubt saw this morning. But as for being the last of an extinct race…” Victor hummed. “No, I can’t really think of anything. Being extinct and all, the topic doesn’t really come up a lot in conversation… so keeping it a secret was pretty easy. But after the loud noise we made just now… I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire town knew we were mages by now.”

Hop sighed. “I-I really think you should consider coming with us to Wyndon. I don’t think you’d be safe if you two stayed by yourselves here.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know that leaving behind the inn is a big step but…” Hop’s face got a little bit closer, as he regained a bit of confidence and continued to try and persuade Victor. “At least in Wyndon, you’ll have me and Lee there to protect you! Along with the other Challenger Knights, including Lady Bea and Sir Allister!”

“L-Listen Your Highness…”

Hop huffed. “What did I tell you about the formalities?”

“Hop, what you’re saying makes a lot of sense but I don’t know if that’s just up to us!” Victor grabbed Hop’s shoulders. “I want you to listen to me when I tell you this. If it were up to me, I would totally take you up on that offer. I mean, me, going to Wyndon to live with royalty? And my mom’s coming with me? AND I’m actually friends with the prince? Of course, I’d go! But… I have to talk with my mom about it. And I’m sure you have to talk about this with King Leon too…”

Hop’s eyes widened. “W-Wait, you’d actually come with me to Wyndon?”

Victor let go of the prince’s shoulders. “Y-Yeah, I mean… you’re a really good friend to me, and you still trusted me even though I hid this whole magic thing from you… You’re the first real friend I’ve actually ever had.”

Hop’s face grew a lighter shade of red as he covered his mouth with his hand and looked in another direction to not make eye contact with Victor.  _ ‘He puts so much trust in me… I can’t tell if it’s honesty or just sheer naivety… but maybe that’s what I like about him…’ _

Hop looked at Victor again, slightly stuttering with his words. “W-We could go and talk to the adults about it… together?”

“U-Uh… I don’t know if that’s such a great idea… maybe we should go and see what they were talking about before we say anything?”

Hop facepalmed. “Of course… you’re right… that was foolish of me…”

Victor patted Hop on the shoulder as he walked past him. “Don’t say things like that. Now come on, we’re keeping the king himself waiting.”

Victor walked back to the inn, motioning for Hop to follow him, as the prince happily followed. Hopefully, he can tell his brother about what he thinks would be great news for everybody.

~

Away from the sight of Victor and Hop who made their way back to the inn from the back entrance, another figure was watching them from a plateau, away from the clearing.

“They’re lucky I was here. I guess they don’t really give a damn about who finds them since they were so close to just alerting the entire kingdom with all of those meteorites.”

The figure turned her back to the clearing. “I’ll have to make myself known to them at some point… I need the help too…”

And without any witnesses, she was gone.


	14. Family Talk

“Lee? Ms. Sodo? Where are you?” Hop called out as the two boys entered the inn from the backyard. Yvette walked out of Hop’s suite upstairs to respond to Hop’s call by yelling for them to come upstairs.

“I wonder what they’re talking about…” Victor muttered.

The two boys went up the stairs and went into Hop’s suite to see Leon sitting on Hop’s bed, with Yvette on the other side of the room by the seating area.

“So Hopscotch, you were living in this quaint little room, huh? Probably a far cry from your oh so noble upbringing, isn’t it?” King Leon poked fun at the prince and grinned, receiving a flustered response from his little brother.

“I-It’s not like that! Why do you and mother think I’m so hopelessly spoiled…?!”

Victor and Yvette chuckled, but then Leon motioned for Hop to sit down on the bed with him. As Hop followed his older brother’s directions, the other boy went to go sit with his mom instead. It’s best they talked about all the events that just went down.

“So Your Majesty, you know now that we’re mages. If you could forgive my impertinence, I’d like to ask what you’ll do with this knowledge about us.” Yvette spoke, getting straight down to brass tacks.

Leon hummed. Hop curiously looked over at his brother, also confused as to what Leon really meant by them being in danger. Leon spoke carefully. “I’ll tell you everything that I know from the beginning.”

~

Victor and Hop couldn’t believe it. The chancellor? Planning to resurrect Eternatus? All this time, however, Yvette has remained quiet and deep in thought, as if it didn’t really surprise her. Maybe the two boys were more naive than they originally thought…

“So according to this Professor Sonia…” Yvette started. “The chancellor would require mages to cast a resurrection spell in order to awaken Eternatus? Surely she knows that that spell does not really awaken the target to their full power?”

“Ah, so the spell does truly exist?”

“Yes. I, in fact, know the spell myself. I can tell you from experience that it… doesn’t really work.” Yvette sadly broke eye contact with Leon, as Victor also seemed to have the same sad expression.

Leon cleared his throat, not meaning to pry. “Yes, she told me that even with a group of mages, the resurrection spell’s effectiveness does not get enhanced. However, mixing in magic with Galar’s advanced technology that the chancellor has access to, he'd surely be able to make up for that lost life energy with Galar’s own electric power.”

“Could the electric power of Galar really be enough to resurrect Eternatus?” Victor asked.

Leon nodded. “Of course. Galar is entirely reliant on energy that Eternatus creates, known simply as Galar particles. These same particles make up Eternatus’s life force, and our own energy supply.”

Victor shook his head. “I don’t get it… if Eternatus is supposed to be long gone, how do we still have the energy needed to power all of Galar?”

“Before Eternatus was vanquished 10 years ago by the legendary heroes, it was harvested for Galar particles. These same particles are being used today to power everything, from our own houses to colosseums, to even Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing our very own Pokémon.” Leon rubbed his chin, deep in thought. “Rose mentioned that our energy supply will diminish in around 1000 years.”

Hop raised an eyebrow. “And we should be concerned about this… why?”

“It was the same reaction I had, Hopscotch. But since Eternatus is the only method of ‘refilling’ our energy source so to speak, I truly think Rose is going to gather any mage he can find and have them help him revive the dragon.”

Yvette nodded. “Do you have a plan, Your Majesty?”

Leon shook his head. “Nope.”

A moment of silence for the king of Galar.

Hop sighed as Victor and Yvette stared awestruck at their king. “My older brother… the king of Galar…”

Leon scratched the back of his head and blushed. “See, I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I have the professor and this little guy right here,” Leon hung his arm around Hop’s shoulder as he continued, “to help me with all the brainpower. Of course, there’s Queen Mother Lena as well back in Wyndon.” He let go of Hop, who was hiding his face in embarrassment. “However, all I know is that you two must be protected. If at any point Rose knows who you two truly are, your lives will be in grave danger. We don’t even know the possible risks of resurrecting Eternatus, much less the consequences it could have to the entirety of the region of Galar afterward.”

Hop nodded his head. “Why don’t we… bring them back to Wyndon with us?” Yvette and Leon curiously looked at Hop as Victor blushed furiously. “Y-You see… if something were to happen to them here, we’d lose track of them easily. But if they were with us at Wyndon, we could have a close eye on them at all times!”

Leon frowned. “Y-You’re right, but… Rose would surely grow suspicious of us bringing in two commoners to the castle…”

Hop hummed for a moment and then his eyes sparkled as if he had an epiphany. “Well, what if they simply… were not commoners?”

Victor tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

Hop explained. “The only thing that ever really tells anyone that you’re a commoner or a noble is the stereotypes that we think about. What if we simply had Ms. Sodo and Victor both dress up and come to the castle as guests of honor? You know, to thank them for providing me shelter during my battle training!”

Victor’s eyes widened. “That’s… not such a bad idea to take the suspicion off of us.”

Yvette shook her head. “So… we’d be staying at the castle for how long…?”

Hop shook his head. “Just as long as it takes to really figure out Rose’s plan and then exploit it!”

Victor crossed his arms and muttered to himself. “I gotta act like a noble for who knows how long…”

Yvette bumped Victor’s rib with her elbow as she asked another question. “But we can’t just leave the inn unattended…”

Hop stuttered, clearly getting flustered with all the holes popping up in his plan. “W-We’ll get someone to keep the inn stable until you return!”

Leon held Hop’s shoulder. “Hopscotch, you know that’s a really big question to drop on them so suddenly. You gotta give them time to actually think about it. Remember, this is for them, not us.”

“Y-You’re right… I apologize…”

Victor shook his head. “He was just thinking about us, mom. Don’t be so harsh.”

“T-That wasn’t my intention, Prince Hop…”

Hop shook his head. “No, you’re right. It’s too much to ask for you two to come with us.”

Leon looked at Yvette and Victor again. “However, Hop’s offer does make sense. If you two wish to flee Stow-on-Side and come to Wyndon with us, you two are more than welcome to, specifically to repay you two for sheltering my little brother, on top of your mage lineage putting you two at risk.”

Victor and Yvette looked at each other. It seemed to Yvette that Victor was raring to move to Wyndon, but Yvette was more hesitant. She turned to the royal brothers. “I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Could you give me a bit of time to consider it? I truly apologize for the inconvenience.”

Hop and Leon both shook their heads, as Yvette stood up and left the suite after bowing to the king and the prince. Victor sighed as she left.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” Victor scratched the back of his head.

“Not at all, Victor. I know that I’m asking you two for something that can’t be decided on in just a split second.”

Hop stood up excitedly and ran to Victor and hugged him, catching Victor by surprise.

“W-Woah Hop! What’s up?” Victor hugged Hop back.

“Nothing! I’m just really happy you actually want to come back with us!” Hop hugged tighter as Victor’s face blushed.

Hop then let go and turned to Leon. “I’m going to talk to Ms. Sodo. Maybe I can see what’s on her mind.” Hop then turned quickly and left the suite. Victor reached a hand out to Hop and tried to call out for him to wait, but Hop was already out of the room. He sighed.

“Hopscotch really likes you, you know.”

“H-Huh?”


	15. Meeting in the Middle

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! I-I mean, c’mon, I don’t have anything he’d want, so like where would you-”

“Victor.” Leon interrupted his frantic blabbering.

“E-Eep…”

Leon chuckled. “Hop’s never been so excited around anyone before. I always thought he didn’t really fit in with the other nobles back at Wyndon. Other nobles either wanted to be on his good side because of his status as a royal prince or wanted to ignore him because of that very same reason.” Leon looked to the ground sadly, thinking back to his mother wanting Hop to marry someone, but all of his options were people he did not truly love, much less even tolerate.

Victor tilted his head. “W-What does Hop’s royal status have to do with anything?”

Leon’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry?”

Victor raised his hands in front of him in a panic. “T-That’s not what I meant! I know he’s important because he’s the prince of Galar, but… he has a personality too. He’s a prince that truly wants to be fit to help his people and his smile, conviction, and laughter is infectious. Once he tells you about what he wants to do for the kingdom, you immediately feel like you… like you HAVE to help him, you know? It’s almost like you’re not just rejecting the royal family, but you’re also rejecting your best friend, even if he isn’t that.”

Leon hummed as Victor continued.

“Y-You see… the reason I want to follow Hop back to Wyndon is not that I want to live like a noble. If anything, I think living like a noble seems more of a hassle than anything else. I have enough on my plate just worrying about serving the people of Stow-on-Side as an attendant for the inn, I wouldn’t feel qualified to even begin seeing even further, and knowing that what I choose could possibly affect the kingdom as a whole.” Victor smiled sadly at his lap, tightening his fists. “But Hop… he knows that he’s in a seat of power. And he still keeps going. He’s not going despite being a prince, he keeps going because he’s a prince. He came here to Stow-on-Side and immediately treated me like more than just an attendant. He treated me like a normal kid would treat any other kid. And I’m really grateful for it. I feel like all the other kids here don’t wanna talk to me because I’m always busy with this town’s problems.”

Leon frowned at Victor. “I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling ostracized here.”

“I… understand how Hop feels when you say he doesn’t really like anyone back at Wyndon. I can’t really talk with anyone here. Whenever someone compliments me for my cooking or my service, I can only just smile and wave. I don’t feel anything, I’m just doing my job because it helps my mom out.”

“And what about your mother? What do you think she feels about being here?”

Victor thought for a moment before answering. “I… think she feels the exact opposite of me to be honest, hehe. She always has a smile when attending to our customers, she always waves and can recognize anybody she passes by outside, and I feel like since my dad died, she has had the support of everyone else here in Stow-on-Side. I think… she sees the people here as a second family.” Victor fell silent. “Maybe… maybe that’s why she doesn’t wanna leave…”

“Before you make your choice to leave your hometown, Victor, you should really consider what your mother wants. Remember, she probably lived here way longer than you did. It’ll probably be way harder for her to leave her family and her livelihood behind, even if it is for her own safety. She’ll be going to Wyndon with only you as family, and Hop and I as mere acquaintances, and the same goes for you.”

“Y-You’re right, Your Highness. I was selfish…”

Leon smiled. “Don’t be so harsh on yourself. It’s good you realized it before I even said anything. If anything, that makes you more selfless than you think.”

Victor looked up at Leon. “W-What about you, Your Highness? What do you think about the people of Wyndon?”

Leon stopped for a minute but smiled. “I love all of Galar, no matter where they live. Whether it be in the noble town of Wyndon, or the so-called “commoner slums” of Spikemuth.”

~

“Ms. Sodo?” Hop called out as he went down the stairs. As he got to the inn’s lobby, he found Yvette looking around her kitchen, almost like she was reminiscing.

“Um… Ms. Sodo?” Hop called out nervously.

Yvette turned to Hop nervously but breathed a sigh of relief once she saw it was just Hop. “O-Oh, it’s you, Prince Hop. How can I… How can I help you?” Yvette walked over to him and gave him her best customer smile she could muster.

However, Hop saw right through it. “I saw you sadly looking around your kitchen. I really didn’t mean to offend you with my offer… I just thought we could protect you in Wyndon…”

Yvette shook her head and walked back to the kitchen. “Young prince, please, take a seat.”

Hop followed her directions and sat down at the bar, looking around Yvette’s kitchen, getting a better look at it. All the way in the back, he could see pictures of her with several customers that have come to eat or stay overnight at the inn, and all of the pictures had her smiling gleefully with the other people of Stow-on-Side. Merely looking at the pictures was enough to give him a warm, welcoming feeling. His smile soon dropped as he thought about his own people of Wyndon.

“Prince Hop, I truly do appreciate the offer to have the protection of the royal family in Wyndon. I know that our mage lineage is the deciding factor of the safety of Galar. But…” Yvette looked at the pictures hanging on the back wall and sighed. “I can’t just leave these people and my inn so quickly. They are my family… and this inn is all I have. After Ash died, these people were my saving grace. They looked after me because Victor was too young to shoulder any of my burdens back then. And even then, he was suffering too. I couldn’t have him suffer for the both of us.”

“A-Ash, miss…?”

Yvette turned around to face Hop. “I apologize. Ash is the name of my husband. He…” She turned back around. “It’s been around 6 years since he died.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Ms. Sodo.” Hop frowned.

“Thank you for your condolences.”

Yvette continued to smile sadly at her pictures, but then her expression changed. After further inspection, she realized that Victor wasn’t smiling in any of these pictures. He looked… dejected, or like he was being forced to be in the picture. Now that she thinks about it, he always winced at taking a picture with other people, and even if anybody complimented his cooking, he only shyly thanked them, like he was taught to.

“That’s right… Vic doesn’t think of this place the same way I do…” Yvette whispered.

“I’m sorry?” Hop tilted his head.

Yvette turned her body but still kept her gaze on the pictures. “I… I might have only been thinking of myself until now. Victor never felt the same way as I did about the residents of Stow-on-Side. After Ash died, I was the only one who helped Victor, even though I was suffering too. The residents helped me but I was the only one who helped him. Now that I’m thinking about it…” Yvette finally turned her head to give Hop a genuine smile. “You’re the only one he truly talks happily to. It’s like he can really be himself around you.”

Hop blushed furiously. “H-He’s a good friend to me too, i-it’s the same for me, I assure you!”

Yvette giggled. “Prince Hop, do you have any residents you truly care about in Wyndon?”

Hop’s blush subsided as his smile turned into a frown. “I care for all of the people of Galar because it is my duty to protect them from any harm that might come to them, but…”

~

“C-Can you really name everyone who stops by your castle?!” Victor was now sitting next to Leon on Hop’s bed, with his eyes sparkling at the king.

Leon laughed. “Of course not, Victor, that was a joke. I may love all of Wyndon, but I’d be lying if I could name every resident who’s currently living there.”

“But… why do you like everyone so much…?”

Leon frowned in response to Victor’s genuine question, but he smiled as he thought about his royal home. “If I had to give you a reason, it’s probably because they all accepted me as their king shortly after I beat the previous king of Galar in a battle. It made me feel like I was still at home back at Postwick. They all raised me to be a fit king along with Queen Mother Lena.”

“I-I see…” Victor frowned and looked off into space.

Leon sighed. “You shouldn’t compare your own experiences to the experiences of others. It could be pretty bad for your mental health and self-esteem.”

“H-Huh?”

“Hopscotch used to do it all the time.” Leon smiled as he reminisced. “He always thought that because his older brother was the king…” His smile turned into a frown. “He thought he had to try harder than he had to.” Leon then turned to Victor again. “Please. Don’t try and compare yourself to others. There are others who haven’t lived the life you have. Yes, they may be privileged in that regard…” Leon smiled again. “But they don’t have the power to make flames appear out of thin air and defy the laws of physics as you can, Victor.”

Victor’s eyes widened and sparkled at Leon’s words. He never thought about how life would be if he was in a different family, but even though he has no real connection to the people of Stow-on-Side, he wouldn’t trade in his mom for the world.

“Y-You’re right, Your Highness. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, make sure your mom knows how you feel.”

“Y-You’re right, again.” Victor stood up. “Please excuse me. I’m gonna go see how my mom’s doing.”

~

“So you don’t really like anyone in Wyndon, Prince Hop?”

“It’s not that I do not like them. I have a responsibility to be there for all my people, even if I like them personally or not. It’s just… I do not have the same connection to the people of Wyndon that my brother has. They were there to make sure the king felt welcomed but… the prince and the queen mother were not so fortunate. We were there for his coronation and we were there whenever he showed up for his duties… but we don’t get the same attention as the champion of Galar. If you think about it, it was him who defeated the previous king, not us.”

“I see. Is that why you want Victor to go to the castle with you?”

Hop blushed and Yvette smiled. “T-That’s one of the reasons yes… but it’s not the only one, I promise! I really do care for his safety and I also want you to come with him because you are in the same situation he is! It’s just… he’s the one true friend I have made since I became a prince. He’d be the one true person I can connect to in Wyndon if he came back with me, besides my own family. But… aside from me…”

“Hm?”

“You say that Victor feels alone here too…”

Yvette looked over to the pictures again. “Yes. You’re the only one he can truly communicate with.”

“I can relate with how he feels. Even though he was so quick to accept my offer, I know he wants to consider your own feelings as well. I tried to always better myself for my brother’s sake and I always tried to put him before me. I know Vic feels the same for you.”

Yvette’s smile grew wider as she sniffled. “Yes, I think you’re right about that.”

With that, they heard the door swing open and Victor went down the stairs to greet Yvette and Hop.

“Mom! I just wanna tell you that if you want us to stay in Stow-on-Side, I’ll be perfectly fine with that!”

Yvette and Hop both giggled, as Victor simply stared at them in confusion. However, Yvette simply shook her head.

“Vic, I know you’ve always been feeling alone here in Stow-on-Side and I know you’re only saying this because you want to think about my own feelings about the prince’s offer. But… no. We’re leaving for Wyndon.”

Hop and Victor’s eyes both widened. Hop asked her first. “A-Are you sure, Ms. Sodo?”

“It’s just as you said, Prince Hop. It’s for our safety. Even though I have my family here, it’s also my responsibility to look after Victor. And even though it’ll pain me to say goodbye to this inn and the people of Stow-on-Side,” Yvette looked around the inn’s lobby. “Sometimes… it’s for the best. Well Vic, pack your things. We’re leaving for Wyndon and we have to be sure we’re ready for the move.”

Leon walked out of the suite and down the stairs to meet up with the other three. “I heard you’ve accepted the offer, Ms. Sodo?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s for my son’s safety.”

Victor smiled and hugged Yvette. “Yours too, mom.”

Yvette nodded and smiled as she hugged her son back. They let go after a short moment and Hop hugged Victor from behind, making Victor blush furiously. Leon and Yvette both chuckled as they watched Hop hug him from behind, too happy to focus on the physical contact. After Hop let go, Victor turned around and faced him with a face as bright as a tomato.

“W-We’ll take you on your offer, Y-Your Highness…!” Victor bowed.

Hop laughed at Victor’s formality as Leon nodded and looked to Yvette. She nodded as well.

From now on, the Sodo family would be the first commoners to live in the city of nobles.


	16. Return to Wyndon

A short while after the Sodo family agreed to come live with the Grants in their royal castle, King Leon remembered why he left Wyndon in the first place. It was to meet up with Professor Sonia to check up on the gadget she was working on to detect mage activity. After saying goodbye to Victor, Hop, and Yvette, he called out his Charizard and rode it off into the skies again. He then began to make his way south again, to Wedgehurst.

Only a short while passed before he landed in Wedgehurst, not bothering with the disguise as he did last time he visited. He already knew he was very late, as he told the professor he was going to meet her hours ago, so he did not bother with the view of Postwick. He instead went straight inside the lab located at the southernmost building of Wedgehurst.

He opened the door to see Professor Sonia seemingly making some final calculations, with a small watch-like device on her desk.

“Professor! Sorry for the late arrival, I was-”

“Geez, you always make a girl wait, don’t you, oh high and mighty king of Galar?!”

Leon winced and held up his hands in surrender as Sonia continued to grill him for being over two hours late. After she got everything out of her system, she showed Leon her device which seemed to be nearing its completion.

“And you’re sure this device can detect magic? Like you said it would?”

“How should I know? I have no way of testing it, I’m not a mage.”

“Well… is it alright if I take it with me to Wyndon to see if it reacts to anything back home? When it’s complete, anyway.”

“Yeah sure, it was originally built for you, anyways. The way I built it makes it so it should make a beeping sound when it detects magic within around 2 kilometers.”

“You really made it able to detect magic from so far away?”

“I mean, that’s what it should be able to do. Who knows how it actually works, if it even does or not.”

Leon deadpanned. Of course, she’s not a mage. “So, what final touches do you need to complete its design?”

“Well, it’s actually done, but I was just making calculations for the components needed to revive Eternatus.”

“Oh? And did you find anything?”

“Well, we’d need a lot of Galar energy, that much was certain. As for exactly how much… I don’t know. It could be an entire powerhouse’s worth of energy.”

Leon was shocked. “C-Can it really reach that large an amount?!”

“It certainly could. Eternatus is a big deal. As for magic, Rose only needs one mage. Having more than one mage could probably speed up the process and act as a catalyst, but as for the amount of magic he actually requires… it’s only one mage capable of resurrection.”

“How exactly does that spell work…? Can it really revive anybody?”

“I… couldn’t tell you. I’m not an expert on magic.”

Leon chuckled. “Right…”

“Alright well, there’s your magic detector. You can take it and have a drink or something if you want. If that detector was all you came for then…” Sonia droned off, trying to motion Leon to scram. Leon took the hint and took the detector as he made his way out of the lab after thanking the professor. She simply smiled and waved, as if saying “you’re welcome” without actually saying anything. Once the king was out of the lab, the professor had a sigh of relief.

“Honestly… he should really know what pressure his mere presence gives…”

~

The next day, Hop was packing his things as he was getting ready to leave Stow-on-Side. He packed his spare clothes and his one Pokéball that had Dubwool and left his suite, making sure to leave it nicely cleaned and prepared, even though the inn would be closing down for a while until Yvette and Victor returned from Wyndon. Hop felt bad that the town’s only inn would be closing down because of an offer he made, but it was for the best. It’d be worse if Chancellor Rose came after Yvette and Victor himself and made a mess of Stow-on-Side in the process.

A weird thing Hop noticed about the people of Stow-on-Side is that no one was talking about the massive explosions that were created by Yvette the day before. Victor wasn’t making that big a scene compared to Yvette, but he was expecting at least someone to say something… anything. He couldn’t have been the only one to have had his ears almost been rendered useless by the sounds of Yvette’s meteorites…

He hasn’t mentioned this concern to Victor or Yvette yet, mainly because they must be used to it. He figured that since Victor and Yvette trained a lot during the late-night, they must have made some sort of… magic barrier or something to keep the sound out. Hop began to think some far-fetched conclusions.

_ ‘What if, they transported us to some pocket dimension, where nobody exists besides them? Or, maybe they took away the hearing of the other residents of Stow-on-Side and then gave it back to them when I wasn’t looking? Maybe… I was just imagining the sounds the meteorites were making? Were they really not that loud at all…? Hmm… am I going deaf…?” _

Hop’s thoughts were interrupted by Victor, who was waiting for him outside his suite but ended up walking inside when he figured that Hop was simply taking too long to get ready.

“Are you alright in here, Hop?”

“Yes yes, I’m just uh… thinking.”

Victor tilted his head. “About?”

“Uh…” Hop blushed in embarrassment. “I-It’s nothing…”

Victor smirked and got closer to Hop. “Were you thinking dirty thoughts in here? Is that why you were taking so long?”

Hop’s blush grew darker. “W-Where did that come from?! That’s too far! I was thinking nothing of the sort!”

Victor chuckled. “Sure, sure you weren’t. What were you thinking about then?”

Hop’s blush subsided a bit and he scratched the back of his head. “A-Am I going deaf?”

Victor deadpanned. “Are you… what?”

“Am I going deaf.”

“You’re talking to me just fine. No, I can tell that you for sure can hear just fine. Why’d you start worrying about your hearing?”

Hop swung his hands out in front of him in frustration. “Agh, it’s nothing! Come on, we have to leave!”

“Uh… sure.”

Hop walked past Victor in a rush as Victor followed right behind him down the stairs to the inn’s empty lobby, where Yvette was waiting, with her things all packed.

“Mom, what’d you pack?”

“Oh you know, just some clothes. I also packed the pictures from the kitchen. Any money we had is in my own account because carrying cash around is just asking to have someone mug me.”

“I-I assure you, Ms. Sodo… Wyndon doesn’t have much crime at all due to the king himself living in the city…”

“Oh. Well yes, that makes sense, Prince Hop. I apologize, we’re so used to living here that we’ll be out of our element in Wyndon.”

Yvette sighed and Victor began to look a bit glum. Hop looked at the both of them and nervously spoke up. “I-If you want to stay here in Stow-on-Side, you still have a chance…”

Yvette shook her head. “No, young prince. I have made my decision. Vic?”

“Oh, yes. Same for me.”

Hop smiled, although he still was a bit hesitant taking the Sodo family out of their hometown, no matter what the reason was. Victor pat his shoulder.

“Hop, we’re okay. Even though this is only temporary until Chancellor Rose’s plans get exposed, we’ll be sure to enjoy our time in Wyndon.”

“If you say so…”

Hop and the Sodo family walked out of the Sodo Inn to see that a multitude of other residents already gathered in front of the inn, knowing about their move. It seems like they wanted to see their inn staff off.

The residents began to call out. “We’ll miss you, Yvette! Take care of your son for us!”

“Take care, okay? Come back safe!”

“This town won’t be the same without you!”

Yvette smiled and waved at everyone as she went with the other two children to the spot where Hop’s private Corviknight taxi was already waiting. As they squeezed into the backseat, Yvette looked out the window to continue waving sadly to her family of Stow-on-Side. Victor merely sighed as he continued to watch the villager wave back. Not anyone mentioned his actual name. It was all ‘your son’ or just Yvette. This made him feel a tinge of jealousy in his heart, but he was at least leaving with his friend to another city. A royal friend, at that.

Although Hop mentioned that Victor and Yvette should dress as nobles so they don’t receive  _ too _ much attention in Wyndon, the two politely refused (well, Yvette politely refused, Victor was more so completely against the idea) and it suddenly came to Hop that they would be getting a lot of stares anyway since Hop left only by himself in a Corviknight taxi, but is coming back with two other commoners in tow, to a city where no commoners live.

Speaking of which, Victor asked Hop. “So… why are there no commoners in Wyndon?”

“Well… there were some at some point, but the cost of living in Wyndon became too much for an average commoner. And after commoners began to leave Wyndon, most of the nobles already living there sort of grew this innate dislike for commoners, due to the way they live.” Hop clenched his fists on his lap. “I simply believe this is ludicrous… Chancellor Rose is a commoner but yet here he is, flourishing along with the rest of us. Why can’t they see that commoners are just the same as them…?”

“My prince…” Yvette interjected into the conversation. “Commoners might be the same species as nobles, but to group them together under one umbrella is simply a far-fetched dream as of right now. As long as we have “commoner towns” such as Stow-on-Side and Spikemuth and “noble towns” such as Circhester and Wyndon, the discrimination will continue.” Yvette frowned. “There’s just different people in both groups…”

Victor shook his head. “I guess all that matters is that the royal family is accepting of commoners, right?”

Hop smiled. “Yes… of course.” 

However, he thought to himself of what Queen Mother Lena would say to bringing over two commoners to the castle. Even though she used to not care for statuses, that all changed when Leon was crowned the king of Galar. Now it seems that she puts the status of the royal family in front of their own needs.

_ ‘I just hope Lee will be there by the time we arrive so I don’t have to explain this by myself… and I hope he’s already explaining to her the situation…” _

Hop crossed his fingers and just hoped for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate that Grammarly keeps trying to swap Wyndon for Wynton and Hop for Hope, please stop


	17. They Remind Me of My Past

Leon has already arrived back at his castle with Sonia’s magic detector in tow. Since he arrived, he’s been thinking of a way to properly tell Lena that the castle would have two new commoners arriving. He thought of easing her into it, but then thought that by the time he eases her into it, Hop and the others would’ve already arrived by then. No, he has to be upfront and keep her calm.

“Mother?” Leon called as he knocked on the door that leads to the Queen Mother’s room.

“Yes, come in, Leon.”

Leon walked in to find Lena simply sitting on her chair looking out into Wyndon on the balcony. Her own balcony is her favorite place in the castle when she feels like she needs to just step away and take in a breath of fresh air. Even though Leon is mostly responsible for the land of Galar, that does not mean Lena can simply sit in the castle and do nothing. Not to mention that she was taking care of Wyndon in Hop’s and Leon’s absence.

“What is it, son?”

“I have come to tell you that we have two visitors coming to the castle.”

“Visitors, you say? This is news to me… oh my, has the castle been cleaned?” Lena was always one to care too much about the small details. It wouldn’t even matter if the castle was clean, Victor and Yvette were coming to stay.

“Yes, it’s clean, I assure you. But… they’re not just visitors. They’re going to be staying in the castle for a while under our protection.”

“Our protection? What’s all this about?”

“You see, they’re mages.”

“M-Mages?! That’s unbelievable, I was told they were extinct! How did you come across these mages?!”

“They were living in Stow-on-Side. In fact, they were the curators of Hop, since they were the family that was running the Sodo Inn.”

“They’re commoners, too…?”

Leon sighed. “Is something the matter, mother?”

“No, no… I just hope they’ll mind themselves around the castle…”

“They were the staff of an inn, mother. Commoner or not, they know how to keep their own stations clean.”

It was Lena’s turn to sigh. “But why is it that you’re letting them into our castle to stay? Not even our own nobles of Wyndon stay in the royal castle for even one night. It is hazardous to our own safety!”

Leon’s frown grew larger. He knew where this was going. “Mother, it’s hazardous to their own safety if they were staying in Stow-on-Side.”

“It’s a commoner-only town! Anyone would be at risk there!”

Leon shook his head. “You know that is not what I meant.”

Lena began to ramble off on her own. “I knew it was a mistake to send Hop to that town… and now he’s bringing them back with him! What will the locals think?! No, you will send them back to Stow-on-Side right when they arrive! I will not have commoners in this castle!”

Leon huffed. “Mother.”

“I should’ve sent Hop to Hammerlocke to train with Sir Raihan instead…”

“Mother.”

“Oh, what if they changed Hop?! What if he’s no longer the proper prince?!”

“MOTHER!” Leon yelled.

Lena simply stared at Leon with her eyes widened. “Leon Grant, I am your mother! You will not talk to me in that-”

“No, it is time that you stopped and listened to yourself for once. I am telling you that these two residents of Galar are in danger because of their living conditions. Not because they are commoners, not because they were living amongst commoners, but it was because of them being in danger of being captured by Chancellor Rose! Why are you so afraid of commoners that you can’t even stand to protect them when you are our very own Queen Mother of Galar?! They’re human beings, too!”

“This is all that Chancellor Rose’s fault! He’s a commoner too!”

Leon was reaching his limit. “Commoner, commoner, commoner, that is enough with the labeling! I’ll have you know that one of these two visitors that are coming to this town is Hop’s very first friend that he has ever made!”

Lena looked shocked. “Hop’s-”

“Yes! A commoner! Our prince made friends with a commoner because no one of our own “kind”, since you think we’re some different species, ever gave him the time of day! It was either that, or they wanted to take advantage of him for being the prince! You know this already! You have seen it firsthand!”

“I know that but-!”

“No! That is enough! It is time you see that Galar is not simply made up of half human beings, half devolved scumbags! We are one nation! Nobles themselves are what pressed Hop to start looking elsewhere for friendship, and he finally found it! I will not allow you, our very own mother, to take that one light away from him!”

Lena simply stared at Leon, shocked. Never has he raised his voice at her, especially not to lecture her about discrimination. 

Leon sighed. “I have seen this boy myself. He is responsible. He is a fine boy. He and Hop bounce off so well. They both find in each other what they can’t find in any other person. But he is a mage and so is his mother. They are in danger, and I cannot permit any resident of Galar to live in fear if I can help it. You will accept this, and I will not permit any comment from you about their commoner status. Do I make myself clear?”

Lena simply nodded her head in silence, feeling saddened.

“Why are you so fearful of them, mother…? You weren’t like this in Postwick. You wanted nothing to do with being a noble, even though we were already given that status since birth… what changed?”

Lena sighed. “Living in Postwick was fine. It was… fun, even. I had a good time watching Hop smile while playing with the Wooloos… he looked like having Pokémon was all he needed… but then…” Lena sighed again. “Then you showed your exceptional battling skills. You went off to challenge the champion of Galar after you surpassed all the other challengers, and you… you won. You were now the champion, you were now the king. We had to go live in Wyndon, in the royal castle, amongst all the nobles…” Lena got up from her seat on the balcony and walked inside. “I thought we’d have so many troubles fitting in… but the locals welcomed you as if you were a hero. Because you were…! You were the new champion of Galar.”

“What… does that have to do with commoners?”

“We… were living the life of an average commoner even though we were nobles. We were making our own lives harder than it had to be, all because I did not want to take Hop’s happiness away, I did not want to make you be accustomed to an all-new place by yourself. When we first arrived here and saw all that was available to us the moment we became the royal family… I felt like a failure. I made us live poorly… all because I did not want to change what we already had. Looking at any commoner now… reminds me of my failures…”

Leon shook his head. “You are no failure. Your reasoning for us staying behind in Postwick is sound. If anything, I took that away from us because I became king…”

“No, you cannot regret your choices of becoming king. Even if you won that battle and refused to become king, everyone in Galar would have known that the one that is most powerful with Pokémon was not our king. We would be living without the best protection that the royal family could offer. You were the key to fix that. Don’t blame our lifestyle on yourself.”

“But you must understand that the commoners of Galar aren’t responsible for our lives… they had nothing to do with us…”

“I know! I understand that! I just… can’t help it… it just makes me think back to the past, where Hop was happier… and it makes me feel like I took Hop’s happiness away! If you said nothing to me I would have done it again a second time…”

Leon sighed as he hugged his mother. As his mother hugged back, she spoke up again.

“I think what I am trying to say is… I’ll change. I have to, as the Queen Mother of Galar. I have to look at Hop’s new friend with a new perspective, as he was able to give Hop the happiness that I was unable to give. I’ll have to thank him when he arrives.”

“I think you’ll see that Victor and Hop are not so different.”

“Victor, is his name? And his mother?”

“Yvette. Victor and Yvette Sodo.”

“I see… that woman must be quite the hard worker to keep the inn running for so long all by herself.”

Leon nodded and smiled as he began to see the change that his mother wanted to show. He just hopes she can keep this up until the family actually arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm making this so dramatic for no real reason oh my lord
> 
> But this is what came to me while I was writing, so I guess it'll have to be


	18. Nice to Meet You

Hop and the others finally arrived at Wyndon after what seemed like an eternity for Hop. Yvette waited patiently for the taxi to arrive at its destination but… Victor fell asleep very soon after they had their small conversation about commoners leaving Wyndon. Although that in and of itself isn’t such a big issue, Victor ended up having his head fall on Hop’s shoulder partway into his nap. Hop didn’t simply move him because he looked too peaceful and Yvette might have said she did the same for the same reason, but she actually thought the sight was adorable.

Since Victor slept the entire way to Wyndon, he was a little groggy and sluggish when they actually arrived there. Hop finally got to see tired Victor, and it wasn’t the ‘almost gonna faint please help’ kind of tired.

“Hooop…” Victor cried.

“Y-Yes Vic…?”

“When are we getting to a bed that I can sleep on…”

Victor’s voice droned on when he was tired, and it seems that all he’s focused on is getting some more sleep. Hop wanted to get Victor to his guest room and settle in as well, but he regretted informing Victor that he’d have to keep himself presentable for Wyndon’s nobles, especially his mother.

“O-Oh… you’re right. I’ll… hold out.”

Victor still swerved a bit in his step. Hop just figured he was overreacting at this point.

As the taxi arrived in front of the castle, Hop was disappointed to see a lot of prying eyes near the entry gates to the castle. It seems as if everyone heard the prince has been away, but as for what reason or for how long, Hop doesn’t think anybody cared. All they really wanted was an excuse to leave their houses and come see the castle. Hop simply smiled and waved, not saying anything about his inner lack of attraction to the people of Wyndon. He wished he didn’t feel this way; he wanted to love everyone in Galar unconditionally like his older brother, but his feelings simply don’t work that way.

_ ‘I guess it’s better that he’s king and I’m not…’  _ Hop thought to himself as he faked a smile for the nobles of Wyndon.

The eyes of the public grew curious as they saw Yvette and Victor step out of the taxi as well, not dressed in traditional formal attire like the other nobles. They were dressed well, just not the same dress code you’d expect out of a ballroom, which seems to be what all nobles wear just to be out and about in the streets.

Victor shyly waved to the public, being overwhelmed by the number of people gathering near the gates. Yvette waved with more confidence, but she didn’t mind the attention too much as she followed Hop into the castle, pulling Victor with her before Victor fainted from all the attention he was receiving.

As they entered indoors, Victor and Yvette were surprised at how grand even the main entry was. It was spacious as if it was like a museum and it was meant to hold a great number of people. However, without all the people filling it up, it seemed empty. And to Victor, a little sad and lonely.

Lena and Leon were there to greet the three. Leon simply greeted them as he would any other acquaintance of his, but Lena then stepped forward and bowed, surprising Hop.

“Greetings, Victor and Yvette Sodo. My name is Lena Grant and I am the queen mother of Galar, also mother to Hop and Leon. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Victor and Yvette smiled and kneeled before royalty, now finally seeing all three members of the royal family. Yvette spoke up first as Victor was still way too tense to even speak. The fatigue he had earlier was ripped away from him at this point.

“Hello, Your Majesty. My name is Yvette Sodo and I am honored to be in your presence.” Yvette bumped Victor’s rib a little as a few seconds passed and he hasn’t said anything yet.

“H-Hi Your Highness… I’m very honored to meet you in person… m-my name is Victor Sodo.”

Hop and Leon chuckled as Lena tilted her head at her children. Hop was still awestruck by his mother’s behavior, as she was behaving way more controllable than he was expecting. He asked for the Sodos for a moment of time alone with his mother and brother, to which Yvette graciously accepted and told him to go on, as Victor struggled to regain his composure.

“Ma’, are you feeling alright?”

Lena giggled. “What is this about, Hop?”

Leon responded instead. “Seems he’s just surprised by your sudden progress, is all.”

“Progress? What?”

“Do not worry about it too much, Hop. Please, entertain our guests while I prepare their room. Leon, you accompany them as well.”

Leon simply nodded as Hop still was shocked at her sudden change of heart towards commoners.

“What did you do, Lee?”

“Nothing, I just told her what needed to be said. Anyways, you should get back to Victor. Your friend looks like he’s about to faint.”

Hop looked over to Victor who was still shaking in his mother’s arms. When he rushed right over to see what was going on, Yvette assured him he was alright.

“Don’t worry, my prince. He’s just feeling a little overwhelmed, that’s all. From the grand audience we got when we landed to now finally being in the castle with the royal family, he’s just a little shaken.”

“Shaken… okay.” Hop kneeled down to Victor. “Vic, hey, you’re going to be alright, okay? No one here’s going to hurt you. We’re not going to judge you.” He got Victor’s attention, but he was still shaking. “I’m here, Lee’s here, Ms. Sodo is here. We’ll protect you.”

Just then, like magic, Victor’s shaking began to subside. He breathed a sigh of relief but he ended up passing out in his mother’s arms. Yvette looked at her son happily, but then spoke:

“Prince Hop? What was that?”

“It’s er… it’s what my brother used to tell me when I used to be overwhelmed by all the people of Wyndon when we first arrived here. I was scared of all the people… I wasn’t used to it. But he would always calm me down by saying the people I cared about were still with me. I-I’m not too sure about what Victor thinks of me or Lee but… I’m just glad it seemed to work.”

Yvette chuckled. “I’ll be sure to use that from now on. Thank you, my prince.”

Hop scratched the back of his head bashfully as Leon walked over to the three. “Did he actually faint?”

“Lee!”

Leon chuckled. “I’m just kidding around, Hopscotch. He must’ve been tired from the ride here, too. We should wait until the queen mother gets their room ready.”

Hop thought to himself.  _ ‘Was Vic really that tired? Or was he feeling nervous ever since before we even got out of the Corviknight taxi…?’ _

After a bit of time passed, the four were still waiting in the castle’s lobby. There was a comfortable seating area for guests who visited the castle and it was where they were waiting, with Victor still fast asleep next to Yvette. Leon and Hop sat in front of them on the opposite side of the glass table that was between the two seats. Just then, Lena came back to notify the four that the guest room was ready, but not without giggling at the sight of Victor sleeping next to his mother. Unbeknownst to the four, Lena secretly wished that her children could relax with her like Victor could with his mother.

Hop stood up. “I’ll take your luggage to your room. I’ll come back for Victor in just a moment.” He rushed to bring Yvette and Victor’s bags to the guest room and just as quickly as he left, he came back to bring Victor back with him.

Surprising everyone with his strength and… boldness, he carried the still sleeping Victor on his back with a straight face and left the three adults by themselves in the lobby of the castle.

A quick right from the split path in the back of the lobby and then another turn left, the door to where the Sodos would be staying was on Hop’s immediate right. He struggled to turn the knob without waking Victor, but he got it open and rushed to place Victor down on one of the two large beds that were there. If Victor or Yvette wanted to have their own rooms they could say so, but Yvette was still with the king and queen mother, while Victor was… unconscious. So this would have to do until one of them speaks up.

Hop tucked Victor in quietly and simply watched him sleep. Hop didn’t feel it before, but he was feeling a bit tired himself. Instead of making his way back to his room, he simply grabbed a comfy chair and placed it down next to Victor’s bed. After watching Victor for just a tiny bit, he was infected by Victor’s own peacefulness and drifted off to sleep.


	19. The Story of Edel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was doing homework for like hours before writing this chapter, so it's a bit shorter than normal. I'm sorry, but homework really tired me out this time...
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy! More chapters to come!

Since Hop and Victor were alone in the guest room where Yvette and Victor would be sleeping, Yvette was left alone with the king and the queen mother. Although she did feel a bit nervous to be left alone in the presence of royalty that she did not know too well, she relaxed as Leon asked her a question so she could talk and not think about her situation.

“Ms. Sodo, I’ve been curious about something.” He raised his hands to his chin. “What exactly happened to all the mages of Galar? Why are you and Victor the only ones left?”

Yvette sighed. “Your Majesty… that is a long story. I could tell it all to you and Queen Mother Lena if you so desire, but please speak nothing about it to Victor. He was too young to remember what happened and I don’t want him thinking about it now.”

Leon nodded his head. “I promise.” Lena also nodded her head, growing curious about the topic as well. She had no idea mages were even still alive.

“You see, we mages lived away from Galarian society and civilization, in a hidden village deep inside the Slumbering Weald. This village’s name was Edel.”

Lena tilted her head. “Edel? This is the first I’ve heard of such a village.”

“It was a nice and quiet little village, surrounded by beautiful plant life everywhere you looked. Everyone who lived in Edel was happy to help anybody else, no matter what age they were. I remember how happy everybody looked when Victor was born… it was the same as being accompanied by the people of Stow-on-Side.” Yvette sighed. “Victor used to love running amongst the flowers with his father… It was the loveliest sight.”

Leon chuckled. “This sounds like it’d be easily found by any wandering traveler who walked into the Slumbering Weald by happenstance.”

“The village was protected by a deep and thick fog. If the village’s ‘conscious’ did not welcome you, you’d walk right out of the mist even though you were walking in a straight line.”

“That’s strange… what do you mean by conscious?”

“It’s a magic barrier we mages placed upon our village, mostly held up by one of the eldest mages in the village. However… that same elderly mage began to grow ill one day. As her magic power faded, so did the power of the magic barrier.”

Leon grew more interested in the story. “I believe I know where this is going…”

“Then… we were attacked. By the very same Pokémon the chancellor is trying to revive, Eternatus.”

“So this must date back to 10 years ago, following the destruction that Eternatus caused in its wake before it was vanquished by the legendary Pokémon of Galar.”

“You’re correct. Victor was only 4 years old back then… and he was injured in the destruction caused by Eternatus. He didn’t speak much so I’m not sure if he lost his memories… because he still recognized me after we escaped the disaster. But… my husband Ash died in the chaos. All I could find of his belongings was that Pokéball that Victor carries now, the same one that holds Cinderace. He also has his Raboot, which is the Cinderace’s child. His father gave him that as a birthday present when he was 3.”

“That’s awful… I’m sorry to hear about your loss.” Leon and Lena both frowned, feeling sympathetic for Yvette.

She shook her head. “I have moved on since then, Your Majesty, but I appreciate your condolences nonetheless.” Yvette frowned and looked at her lap. “If you were to look for Edel now, you’d only find the ruins of what used to be a beautiful village. All the beautiful flowers and trees are probably wilted by now…”

There was a moment of silence, as Yvette unintentionally made the atmosphere just a tad bit saddening and awkward.

“Anyways, there has been something bugging me since you asked us to show you our magic, Your Majesty.”

“What would that be?”

“I felt the presence of another mage.”

The royal adults looked shocked. Lena more than Leon. “S-Surely you just imagined it?! You’re saying that there are three mages that are still alive?!”

“There was no mistaking it, I’m afraid. I felt the presence of a magic barrier as if we were being trapped while I was getting ready to cast my spells. However, I don’t think it was a hostile presence. If anything, it might have been the reason why none of the villagers of Stow-on-Side even mentioned anything about the loud noise I was causing with my spells.”

Leon hummed, deep in thought. “You’re saying this mystery mage helped you conceal your identity?”

“I would assume that was the purpose of the barrier that was set up. As for who created it, I couldn’t tell. I don’t think this mage is a foe, but I still believe we should be on our guard. We don’t know what spells this mage can use. We already know they are capable of creating a barrier in which sound cannot escape. They could use this to trap one of our own.”

“I’ll strengthen the security of the castle.” Leon stood up but turned back to Yvette as he was walking off to go to his chambers. “Please, get some rest. You’ve had a long day.”

Yvette smiled as the king ran off. Now, she was only left with Lena.

“I was told that your son is being a good friend to Hop, Ms. Sodo.”

“Ah, yes. It was surprising to me to see Victor make such good friends with the young prince, even though he didn’t like talking to anybody.”

“Hop is the same…” Lena smiled sadly. “He does not enjoy the company of any of the nobles of Wyndon. We lived like commoners back before Leon bested the previous king of Galar in battle, so I was thinking that perhaps Hop still likes commoners more than nobles.” Lena looked up to Yvette again. “I do thank you for giving Hop shelter during his training, and I must thank Victor as well for showing such kindness to my son.”

“I’d do the same for all my customers, Your Majesty. I made sure to give the prince the best suite we had. As for Victor… he was quick to jump on making friends with him. I’m curious as to how he’ll grow now that he has royalty as his only friend.”

“Did he not have other young children to play with in Edel?”

“No… although Edel did have child mages, Victor enjoyed being with us more than anybody else. Now that I think about it, Victor has been a bit reserved his entire life.”

“Your story about Victor playing with his father reminds me of how Hop used to play with the Wooloo in Postwick. It’s such a shame we didn’t know each other back then… the Slumbering Weald was just a short walk away from where we were living…”

Yvette smiled sadly. “We mages didn’t have much reason to leave the village. Although not many people knew of our existence, we decided that we had to separate ourselves from normal humans. We didn’t want to cause anybody any harm.”

Lena turned to Yvette. “You speak as if you’re not human yourself.”

Yvette’s sad smile morphed into a frown... “We.. always thought that the other people of Galar would think of us as monsters… it’s not like it’s normal to summon fire or water on a whim. I guess we were… afraid of knowing what other people would have done to our kind. But now that Edel is gone, Victor and I had no choice but to fit in and hide amongst the crowd. All the while, I would train Victor to protect himself should anything like Edel happen again.”

“Ms. Sodo, I believe you and Victor have had it quite rough until now. It’s best to take a break for now and plan our next move against Chancellor Rose at a later date.”

Yvette sighed. “Yes… You’re right, Your Majesty. I apologize, and thank you for your hospitality.” She looked off into the direction that Hop ran off, who she was still surprised to see carrying Victor on his back like that. “I wonder what those two are doing…”

Lena giggled. “We’ll just have to wait and see what experiences those two have with each other in the future.”


	20. Her Own Journey

The lone figure rode her Flygon into the area of Wyndon, following the direction that the Corviknight taxi went. She knew her way around Galar, but she couldn’t think of a reason to ever visit Wyndon, the city of nobles. You know, the judgemental kind of an already judgemental species.

She soared through the skies when the radiant city finally came into view. She should have left for the city a lot earlier than she actually did, considering what she just learned for her mission. She wanted to kill that Pokémon that destroyed her village, Eternatus. She has reason to believe that there is something going on within the upper ranks of the nobility, as the king himself showed up in Stow-on-Side, asking to see the capabilities of the mages she has had her eyes on this entire time.

_ ‘Yeesh, and this king thinks taking them to Wyndon would keep them safe? What kind of mental deficiency does this man have?’  _ She thought to herself.

As she flew closer to the city, she decided to land near the entrance to not attract any unwanted attention. She knew she couldn’t just march up to the castle or any of the official buildings, lest she wanted to be arrested on the spot for her shady character. She was already wearing all black to merge in with the darkness of the night, so imagine a character like that simply asking to be let into the royal castle.

However, she also wanted to have fun, so she thought to try it out anyway.

_ ‘Life’s all about takin’ risks, I feel.’ _

She walked into the city of Wyndon, surprisingly without any guards at the entrance of the city. Behind her was the iced-over Route 10, so maybe it was a bit redundant to keep watch over a route that was known to be too dangerous to cross without some form of vehicle.

_ “Can’t help but wonder why they don’t just station two guys here anyways… can’t be too careful. I mean, I’m just walking right in, here.’ _

The young girl waltzed right into the city. It was very late at night, so the streets were empty. No one to ask for directions, it seems. But maybe all she needed to do was look for the building that was the most grandiose, it stands to reason that it should be the castle where the royals live, and where those mages are also being kept, right?

~

She was wrong. That was the museum.

_ ‘When the hell did Wyndon get a museum?! That’s Hammerlocke’s thing, isn’t it?!’ _

So apparently that big building she saw while she was flying over here was not actually where the royals live, it was where these prissy nobles come to gawk at ancient artifacts that are from ancient Galarian times.

_ ‘These nobles have too much time on their hands if they can simply just look at rocks that were probably taken from Edel. That’s MY history, not anything you nobles should have to know about!’ _

Needless to say, this young girl was a mage, only advanced in light and healing spells. Before her family perished in the destruction of Edel, she was taught to heal others and help those in need. She always thought to have that mentality, but…

No one came to help her village when the magic barrier fell and Eternatus attacked. No one knew anyone would possibly have been hurt in the Slumbering Weald.

She only has the heroes of Galar that vanquished Eternatus 10 years ago to thank. But, she also has to give whoever they are an earful for letting that beast live. She didn’t care what the consequences were, she will have her revenge upon that beast that took everything away from her.

This is why she is seeking the mages of Stow-on-Side, as she knows that she cannot take Eternatus down by herself with only light spells. And her three Pokémon partners are also not strong enough to fight against a beast who took down her village. And after seeing what those two mages are capable of, the adult woman especially, she decided to speak with them and see what it is they’re actually going to do here in Wyndon.

_ ‘Or at least I’d LIKE to, but I can’t find this DAMN CASTLE!’ _

The girl continued to internally scream as she kept up her search. However, her screams stopped as she finally found a building with guards standing guard. It was a big building, not as big as the museum, but it also had a taxi parked behind the closed gates. This is it, this must be the royal castle.

She walked up to the guards.

“Aye, think you could let a girl through to meet the prince? I heard he’s oh so dashing and I’d love to meet him!” She put on the best act she could about actually wanting to meet the prince, who she in actuality couldn't care less about.

The guards simply looked at each other unenthused and told the girl to scram.

She huffed and tried again. “Pleaaaaase? You gotta know how hard it is for a girl out here to find a boyfriend!”

“Miss, if you do not desist, we will have to use force.”

“Ugh. Fine.”

The girl walked off just a bit ways off but started to chant.

**_“Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze…”_ **

As her voice echoed throughout the night, the guards collapsed. She smiled when she saw her spell worked, and then called out her Flygon again.

“Okay listen, I really should’ve just flown on you throughout the city and saved myself the unneeded exercise, but you think you can get me over this gate? No destruction needed since I don’t wanna be charged with breaking and entering on top of vandalism of royal property.”

The Flygon tilted its head and turned its back on the girl, signaling for her to hop on. She did so, as the Flygon carried her over the tall metal gate. She thanked it as she recalled it back into its Pokéball. She then called out her Kirlia.

As the young Kirlia smiled to be let out of its Pokéball, Gloria patted its head.

“Think you can teleport me inside that castle right there? That one. Not the building over yonder, not the building in some city in another region, that castle. Right there. Think you can do that?”

The Kirlia cheered as she took hold of the girl’s hand. Within a few seconds, the Kirlia used Teleport to whisk the two away into the large building, where they found themselves in a grand lobby.

“I’m being really inefficient with my methods tonight…”

She thanked Kirlia and recalled it. She then looked around the darkened lobby, noticing that there was still no one around.

_ ‘Are nobles just boring people all around? No one here awake at like… I don’t know what time it is, never mind.’ _

The young girl walked around the lobby but still couldn’t find even the slightest hint of the castle being lived in. It felt like the lobby was spotless; not even the cushions were uneven because someone sat on them, or anything.

_ ‘This must be the life of the royals… lucky them.’ _

She decided to check another room after looking around the lobby for enough time. Wandering around the royal castle was asking for trouble and she knew this, but she has already come this far. There would be no point in backing out and possibly facing more opposition than the amount she faced coming in.

However, this was weird. There were no security guards wandering about the castle or anything. Was everyone out on vacation? Did she simply pick a bad time to infiltrate the castle? ...Was there even a good time to begin with?

Looking all around the castle… the dining room, the ballroom, the bathrooms, the ‘whatever this empty space is used for’ room… no one was anywhere to be seen. The last place she has not checked yet were the bedrooms, mainly because she did not want to wake up anyone if there were actually people sleeping in the castle. But… now all of her options have been exhausted. She began to look in the guest rooms one by one.

Nothing, nothing, nothing, and more nothing.  _ ‘You have GOT to be kidding me. It’s like Wyndon is a ghost town at night. I thought this place was full of life no matter what time it was, humans have to have some form of nightlife, right? Not everyone actually goes to sleep at normal times…’ _

However, she then reached the last guest room that she could find. This one was different from all the others because this one was actually locked when she tried to carefully open it.

_ ‘And now they wanna have a locked room for no reason…’ _

She turned around to start making her way to the actual royal chambers where she thought the royal family would sleep, but then the guest room opened. Out popped a boy with brown and messy hair, rubbing his eye as if he was rudely awakened at 7 AM.

“What is it… Ho-”

The boy stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the girl, who simply stared back, just as confused. But then, a bell rang in her head. Without thinking, she yelled:

“It’s you! You’re that boy from Stow-on-Side!” But seeing the boy’s shocked reaction and thinking about what she just yelled, she cursed herself as she heard a noise from far away in the castle.

_ ‘Oh, they don’t wanna wake up when I’m checking every door in this labyrinth of a castle, but they wanna wake up when I make a little noise?!’ _

“W-Who are you?” The boy asked.

“Guess I’m really in for it now…”

The girl sighed and ran off in the direction of the castle’s entrance, ignoring the shout from the boy to wait, but then the lights turned on as she made it to the lobby.

“Charizard! Cut her off!”

Just then, a Pokéball released a frightening Charizard, who stood at the castle’s entrance, blocking her path. She clicked her tongue and reached for her Flygon’s Pokéball, but then a Primarina was released right behind her too.

“Freeze! You’re surrounded!” Said a grown woman’s voice. That one sounded familiar, too.

She turned around to see yet again, the other person she has been tailing this whole time. Next to her was the unmistakable king of Galar. Her eyes widened. “So it’s true… both of you really did come with the royals back to Wyndon!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you have a lot of nerve breaking into His Majesty’s castle!”

“Ugh, don’t you get it?! You and that boy are mages! I’m from Edel, too!”

“Lies! How dare you mention that village!”

“Ohho, now you think I’m lying?!” The girl then pulled out two Pokéballs. She called out both her Flygon and an Audino, but it was colored purple. As the Audino was released from its Pokéball, it emitted a sparkle. “You think I’m lying…?! I watched my family be taken away from me from that damn dragon that your bastard nobles are trying to revive, and you think I’m going to sit here and let you lecture me about mentioning my hometown’s name?!”

As she shouted at the woman who was now shocked at the girl’s boldness, a line began to form between the shiny Audino and the girl. White magic circles began to surround her and the Audino, as she began her incantation.

**_“O wind, undefiled, embrace those who would be our enemies! Innocent Shi-”_ **

“WAIT!” Cried the boy who she unintentionally woke up first.

The girl stopped casting and the other two adults turned around. The woman called out, “Victor?”

Victor ran to the lobby, stopping to catch his breath. “Are all of you crazy?! This girl could’ve killed us all with that spell! And you!” He pointed to the infiltrator. “Who are you?! How do you know who we are?!”

“So your name is Victor…” The girl relaxed her shoulders and recalled both her Pokémon. She sighed. “It’s just as I said. I’m a survivor from Edel. I’ve been trying to track you two down since I first caught sight of you two back in Stow-on-Side.”

She placed a hand on her hip as she gave her name. “My name is Gloria.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I thought this fic was getting a bit too moody and dark so I decided to sorta switch it around and introduce a character who I think is gonna lighten the mood a little. By the way, this is where the cursing tag is gonna start to actually take effect so be warned for future chapters!


End file.
